Immortality - The Game A Fairy Tail next generation fan-fiction
by LixaDeiton
Summary: It's in the midst of crazy when a group of teenagers arrive at the guild with one apparent job - help Master Makarov with the S-class trials. All of them bear resemblance to certain Fairy Tail members we know and love, but what does this hold for the story? And where does these new and strange hybrids fit in?
1. Chapter 1

It was a rarity for the master to make such strange, sudden and serious announcements in the middle of the day on stage. This either meant excitement or complete life-or-death situations were about to arise. Little did they know that it would be both?

So when the short, extremely old man clambered up the stairs at the side with Gildarts, Laxus and Mirajane following, Levy had to do a double-take. Her animated conversation with Jet faded as she scrutinised the scene unfolding in front of her.

"Excuse me you brats!" The master shouted all of a sudden. The guild fell silent hanging on the edge of each word he spoke. With his eyes slightly closed the Master said in a throaty voice: "As you may or may not have known according to the rumours Mira has possibly spread" – he gave a pointed looked at the bikini-model to his side, who blushed bashfully – "I have decided to reinstate another S-Class trial this time" – roars followed this statement, allowing the entire guild to resort to a brouhaha. It was Gildarts who broke the tie of chaos. "QUIET WHEN THE MASTER SPEAKS!"

"Thank you," Makarov said only briefly looking at the destruction wizard. "As I was saying, I have already decided the candidates for this year. There will be ten, yet the most of them aren't currently here. I will be having another announcement to present the candidates."

Whispers echoed.

"Also I would like to say that within the next few days we'll be having a few guests to help me with the tri…"

Master Makarov was cut off suddenly when they heard a bang come from the guild doors and suddenly a pink-haired mage busted through the doors, shouting in excitement: "We've arrived, fairies!"

Levy's jaw dropped in surprise when she saw the pink-haired girl with curves that could compete against Lucy's full figure. The new girl was dressed in a black kukuta with white and gold linings as her curly hair framed her heart-shaped face. She seemed to be extremely mature and serious when you first saw her with the carefully picked outfit and his shockingly gorgeous face, but then she doubled over laughing.

"Gosh, your faces are all HILARIOUS!" she shrieked in amusement.

Soon Levy noticed another figure running in after her – another girl, but this time with wild and long blue hair tied up into a pony-tail with piercings dotted all across her face. She was also clad in mostly black, but with black and blue accessories dotting her outfit for more to look at. Her jeans were fashionably ripped and her leather jacket fit snugly on her small figure. She also had the most adolescent face Levy had ever seen, with multiple spots of acne and slight oily hair. She also seemed to carry herself with quite discomfort.

"I'm sorry guys," she said rather loudly. "This idiot" – she punched the first one on the arm – "keeps running into every other guild claiming it to be Fairy Wing or something. This is it right?"

"It's Fairy _Tail_ ," the first one said with sudden seriousness in her tone. "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."

"That's us!" someone shouted from the crowd who was now focused on the newcomers.

"Ha!" the pink-haired girl said suddenly with the statement directed at the pierced girl. She on the other hand sighed.

"You must be the newcomers," Mirajane said and walked down the stage's stairs. She came up through the crowd to meet the two dishevelled teens. "Where are the others?"

"Oh they're coming any moment now," the pink-haired girl said.

The pierced girl scoffed and muttered under her breath, "That is if Selene didn't manage to ambush another bar."

"Oh come on, Giselle - Stop being grumpy!"

As if on cue another set of teens ran into the guild, half of them out of breath, especially the one with the big cloak and a set of swords tied to his back. He was red in the face (or what you could see of it) and his shoelaces were both untied. His arms and neck were wrapped in bandages and there was an eyepatch on his left eye. Levy felt threatened just by looking at him, so she averted her gaze.

There was another girl with dark curls and carefully folded hands. Her nails were painted navy and white and she also had piercings, but only a set of earrings of two water drops. Her dress went down to her knees and below she wore brown leather boots. Her face was covered by her black locks and she was constantly fidgeting with the beanie on her head.

The other odd two were twins, both boys. They had their orange/ginger hair parted both sides and wore simple, cotton suits with satin ties. They seemed to radiate confidence and an aura that Levy was pretty sure was abnormally familiar in the sense that they didn't belong there (not in a bad way). Suddenly a little girl with hot-pink hair and a little with dress came running up to the twins and tackled the one on the right yelling, "Big brother Li!"

She seemed to realise what she did and exclaimed in shock, "Gomenesai!" and dropped to the floor, still clutching to the unhindered boy's pants leg.

"Is that everyone?" Makarov finally asked as she surveyed the group carefully.

"Not really," the girl with the water-drop earrings spoke up. "Selene still has to turn up, but I'm pretty sure she stayed behind at that bar we saw along the way."

"Trust me," the first girl spoke up once more when she calmed down from her crazed laughter. "She won't be leaving that bar until she's broke."

"Sounds suspiciously like someone I know," Gildarts joked as he glanced at his daughter. Many others laughed at this and even Cana giggled in her tipsy state. She wasn't going to disagree.

"Alright then," Makarov said and with a wave off his hand invited them to the stage. "Come forward and introduce yourselves." The group carefully followed Mirajane up the stage as the guild's eyes followed them.

As they stood in a line in order of appearance, they spontaneously introduced themselves. "Hi, my name's Nashi and I have Satan spawn dragon slayer magic due to a dragon slayer lacrima I had implanted."

"The name's Giselle and I don't like talking about my magic…" the piercing girl said shyly.

"Aww come, Elly! Say it! It's sounds so epic!" Nashi exclaimed, trying to convince her friend.

"Yeah," one of the twins piped up, "Go ahead."

She sighed and mumbled something incoherently to the floor. Laxus frowned. "We didn't quite hear you, kid."

Giselle swallowed. "I have reptilian transformation magic, meaning the only thing I can change into has to be a reptile or something."

"I'm Danielle!" the next one with water-drop earrings said suddenly. "I have water magic!"

"And a stripping habit," the other twin added innocently.

"I don't have a stripping habit!" Danielle defended and glared at said twin. "I just get hot very easily!"

"Button up your shirt darling, your cleavage is showing," he said nonchalantly.

Danielle huffed and unbuttoned another button just to annoy the twin and have many other guild members gawk at her. One moment she was shy and the next that demeanour disappeared instantly with the loss of a shirt button.

"We're the legendary twins of the heavens!" they said in unison.

"I'm Lamina," the one with the hair parted to the right said and the one who scolded Danielle (and with the hair parted to the left) said, "I'm Lemasiin and this is Ari."

The little pinkie waved a small hand in the direction of the crowd and the cooed at her adorableness. "We have the blessing of the house of the Lion so we are pretty much that catnip loving zodiac," Lamina joked.

"And Ari here," Lemasiin added, "Is still developing her magic."

"She's so adorable!" Lisanna squealed. Ari blushed and hid even more in her brother's trousers.

They group turned to the final boy; the one with the hidden face, the eyepatch and the sword.

"He's Storm," Nashi said.

"He doesn't talk much," Danielle added.

"Or at all," the twins added. This seemed to strike a nerve and before anyone knew it, he was fleeing the guild with his cape flying behind him. Nashi sighed heavily.

Mirajane gasped and so did many others in shock when he fled. It had taken them by surprise to see his sudden outburst. Makarov just followed him with his eyes calmly. "I see."

"It's no big deal. He always does that," Danielle explained. "He can't really be around people. I'm surprised he even came along."

"Does he speak?" Levy finally piped up.

"He can, but he hasn't said a word in ages," Lemasiin said.

"Years, actually," Danielle added, slightly softly.

"Well, everyone," Makarov said as he interrupted the conversation. "I would like you to treat them like Fairy Tail does. Now, Mirajane, take them to their rooms and Laxus go find that boy and the other girl."

"'Right, gramps," he said and shot away as fast as lightning. The guild's chaos dispersed and Mirajane led the others to another room at the top floor where two bedrooms were for the new students. Nashi belly-flopped onto the nearest bed with a squeal, Giselle calmly placed her bags on her one bed and the little Ari went over to sit on the bed closest to Nashi. Danielle sighed happily and thanked Mira on her way to the bed closest to the window, leaving one spot open for Selene.

The boys got the other room, but since it was only the twins left at that moment, an immediate pillow-fight ensued. Nimble as cats the two brothers jump, rolled and tackled each other while throwing pillow-hits left and right. The noise caught the girls' attention and before anyone could stop her, Nashi was joining in on the fight while laughing like the giddy-teenager she was.

"What…" Danielle statement was cut short when a pillow struck her face. She froze and so did the twins. A bad idea on their behalf since Nashi had managed to hit them behind the head.

"That's it," Danielle snarled. She grabbed a pillow from Storm's bed and next thing Nashi went flying from the force of her hit.

Nashi's eyes lit up in mischief. She grabbed the pillow and went running after the raven haired girl. She hit, but the pillow-fight master dodged her attack with another one. Of course the Queen lost her crown when all of a sudden Lamina hit her back and she stumbled over Lemasiin who grabbed her ankle and she landed on her ass.

Laughter sounded through the teammates' room as the pillow fight continued. It soon died down when Lamina almost lost a tooth from Danielle's attack.

"Guys?" Nashi asked carefully. "Where do you think Storm is right now?"

Lemasiin shrugged. "I don't know, but he should stop being an asshole!"

Danielle scowled and threw him with another pillow. "You should chill your ego, your highness," she sneered sarcastically.

"Finally! You see me as royalty!" Lemasiin exclaimed happily, obviously choosing to ignore the insult.

Nashi rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, a royal pain in the ass."

Lamina laughed. Oh goodness, it was a surprise this girl didn't have a boyfriend yet again. Maybe she scared them all away? He decided to test out his theory.

"Let's play truth or dare!" Lamina exclaimed.

"Well done brother," Lemasiin added mischievously. "This will be a game for a night we cannot forget!"

"You filthy cat," Danielle said with absolutely no tone to her voice, but a slight apprehension to the pervert teen's thoughts. Of course she couldn't do a thing.

"Let's go in a circle and dare each other randomly," Lamina said and before anyone could object he said, "Nashi, I dare you to make out with either one of us."

He said it so bluntly that Nashi had to do a double-take. "What? Why!" Her eyes were wide and mortally terrified. Who knew what this pervert had up his sleeve?

She couldn't do anything when Lamina leaned forward and planted a firm kiss on his ex-girlfriend's cold lips. That was one of the reasons they only temporarily dated. Her lips were freezing! He was suddenly punched in the shoulder and was forced down on to his butt into a sitting position.

"Fuck off! I don't need you," she sneered angrily. She jumped up and left the room in a flurry.

"Game over?" Lemasiin questioned. Both twins simultaneously shrugged.

Danielle sighed as she stood up. She cautiously left the room and followed Nashi who had fled to her own room and was now cuddling her pillow. Ari and Giselle seemed to be missing.

"That douche…"

"NATSU FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME WIL YOU SLOW DOWN!?" Lucy yelled as she desperately tried to catch up to him. "You're going the wrong way!"

"No I'm not," Natsu disagreed stubbornly. "I know exactly where I'm going."

Before Lucy could object to this statement Natsu jumped up on the nearest roof just as the monster came flying up from the ground. She was a mermaid-demon with sharp teeth and skin peeling off and see-weed hair. She somehow had the ability to move at the speed of light and could fly and burrow underground. She was technically a demonic Juvia Lockser high on love. It was scary what she would do for someone she cares about…

Yup, utterly terrifying.

And that was the case with this mermaid freak. She was madly-in-love with her deceased boyfriend from a few hundred years back; to the time where witches and wizards were shunned and burned on a stake for their bad deeds. Even before the times of the dragons and Zeref. Her boyfriend had been killed by the villagers and she was put to rest. After regaining full power after a millennium she awoke to seek revenge on the village. Unfortunately, Gray and Erza managed to get lost and Wendy was busy healing, so Lucy and Natsu were left to fight this hag. Of course no S-class job would be easy enough like fighting one demon. No, all of them! All of those demon things working for the main witch… thing. And now she had powered up while fighting Natsu and he was getting a good beating. It was almost like his first time fighting Gildarts seriously.

Lucy summoned Sagittarius and told him to shoot the demon thing… what should we call her?

"Yes, Lucy, moshi-moshi," he chanted. Without further ado he shot the flying fish demon or FFD if you will. His shots hit her every time but seemed to have no effect. Then Lucy came up with a great idea. All she had Natsu do would be lead FFD to another place where she wouldn't destroy the whole town.

"NATSU!" she yelled at the top of her voice, trying to get his attention over the noise.

"Yeah?!"

"GET THAT WITCH THING OUT OF TOWN! I'M GOING TO TRY URANO METRIA!"

Natsu frowned but obeyed and fled the fighting scene, making the FFD follow him immediately. He fought her off while trying to escape and lead her somewhere.

Lucy ran after them, but running through the buildings was wasting her time. She summoned Virgo and with her help she got to the nearest opening she thought Natsu was headed in. When she got there, the fighting two were a fair distance off, but if she focused hard enough she wouldn't hit Natsu.

She closed all spirit gates and her eyes. Feet in line with her shoulders and a firm frown upon her face she started the chant, concentrating on nothing but the heavens aiding her.

(Enter chant here.)

With a sudden blast she managed to send the FFD demon falling to the ground. She was utterly exhausted and her vision was getting blurry, but somehow she stumbled forward to the direction Natsu was in.

Natsu had managed to pummel the FFD without restraint while she was in her weakened form and Lucy supposed she wasn't going to wake up very soon.

"Natsu!" she shouted excitedly.

"Good job, Luce," Natsu complimented, his eyes still trained on the demon mermaid.

"Thanks," she mumbled, stumbling a little on her feet and eventually almost falling, had Natsu not caught her. "What do we do with her now?"

Natsu shrugged. "Tie her up and throw her in the ocean?"

"She may just escape the bondage," Lucy reasoned. She thought carefully alongside her teammate as the two decided what to do with the demon. Natsu's eyes were turned into a frown and Lucy dared question this.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know what to make of this thing. What if she's another enemy? Then we better kill her before she tries hurting Fairy Tail," Natsu mumbled.

"Natsu," Lucy mumbled, "What's going on?"

Natsu's usual childish smile appeared, putting Lucy at ease. "Nothing; just a little… uh, messed up. Pretty freaked out about the whole Zeref thing and whatnot. I'm just trying to keep Fairy Tail as safe as possible! Now let's get this job done and get back home."

Lucy grinned happily and tugged on Natsu's sleeve. "Great idea. Let's put this demon down under where she belongs!"

They had taken the mermaid demon thing back to the Town Hall where she got tied up in magic-chains, supposedly made to possible keep her there all tied up and stuff for another millennium or so. Turns out she wasn't a demon, but a breed between a demon and a wizard and both sides kept fighting to take control over the body, thus leading to her to become this strange hybrid.

Natsu and Lucy found the others on the way there. Gray and Erza had gotten side-tracked (EXTREMELY SIDE-TRACKED) at a cake shop. Well, Gray was actually dragged there, but they also served shaved ice so he wasn't complaining.

Wendy was with the two exceeds, quite drained of magic since she was constantly in charge in healing the attacked citizens. Luckily most of them came out alive, except for the unfortunate ones who were left dead on impact.

The reward was so big that they could cover their week's stay at the hotel with all the Jewels earned and get first class train tickets while having a few hundred Jewels each to spare. Even Lucy was able to pay off her rent for two months _and_ get a new outfit. Especially since the one she wore on the mission there was torn to shreds.

On the train ride back as Natsu and Wendy lay half awake and half-puking their guts out, Lucy conversed with Erza and Gray about her theory she got from Natsu's suspicion when they caught her.

"You see, if the hybrid kept on attack each millennium, then why haven't they killed it in its sleep? Natsu and I were closing in to ending it off, but decided last minute to take the hag back. If I think about it we could have done it, but we both didn't want to…"

"Maybe you just don't have the heart to kill anything," Erza explained calmly, "Unless the case comes to a life-or-death situation."

"I don't think that's what Lucy means," Gray interjected. "Are you saying there was something else, a sixth sense maybe, which stopped you from hurting the hybrid?"

"Yeah, even though we were able to do it all the other times. Like a spell, maybe," Lucy explained.

"We can always do research on hybrids if that's what you want," Erza said helpfully.

Lucy nodded, before slipping back into thought. Why couldn't she hurt her at the end? Why couldn't she kill her?

Immortality.

That's the enemy they were fighting, but neither one of them knew it…

"DO YOU WISH TO LIVE!?" Nashi screeched.

She was calmly indulging herself in a book (comic, she's like her dad) when all of a sudden her worst nightmare come true. Danielle, the twins and Giselle continued playing truth or dare while she was fuming over her ex's pathetic move. Then all of a sudden she heard a snip and her head felt lighter. She had instinctively grabbed at her hair only to feel her open neck. Danielle went running out of the room and Nashi followed soon behind.

There in her right hand was a pair of scissors and in the other a lump of pink hair. Danielle was already on the first level of the floor when Nashi was outside of her room. She jumped over the balcony and tackled the dark haired water mage to the floor.

"Get off!" Danielle shrieked playfully and shoved Nashi to the side.

"What did you think would happen when you snipped off my hair!?" Nashi seethed in fury. "Huh, stripper?"

"I'm not stripper! You're the one who uses a whip!"

"To hurt people, not entertain them!"

"Sadist."

"Masochist."

"You wish," Danielle hissed and punched Nashi hardly. She jumped up immediately and threw a punch at the dark haired girl. Nashi then noticed the hair and scissors were missing.

Meanwhile, the guild watched along unhindered. It was obvious that this group of friends fit right in at Fairy Tail – no doubt about it.

"Ah," Mira sighed, slightly nostalgic. "They're like Natsu and Gray. Slightly more violent, but you know."

"Yeah, don't you think it's freaky how much they look like them?" Lisanna muttered.

Mira smirked and winked at her sister briefly, before continuing cleaning out a beer mug. Lisanna's eyes shot wide open at realisation of what her sister was implying.

"You're not telling me…"

"You're a smart kid, Lisanna. I knew you'd figure it out before the rest," Mirajane said with a smirk.

"Why are they here?!"

"Like master said," Mira said only loud enough for her sister to hear, "They're here to help with the S-class trials and… they have their own mission."

A few hours later as the fight died down and Nashi was left freaking out about her hair while Juvia and Bisca were trying to calm her down, Fairy Tail's strongest team arrived moments later.

"Hello guys!" Mira greeted cheerily. "How did the job go?"

"Great," Lucy and Natsu said simultaneously, bursting out in laughter right after.

"Perfectly well," Erza agreed.

"No complaints at all this time. Thank Lucy," Gray added. Hearing this, Juvia seethed slightly in private about her 'love-rival' getting serious attention from her 'man'.

"Fishy!" Happy squealed and flew straight towards Lisanna who went into the kitchen to get the blue cat his meal. Lucy also noticed in the corner of her eye someone exchanging cash.

"What's that about?" she asked Mira who also noticed this.

"Oh, everyone's been betting if you guys were going to destroy an entire town or not. Of course, nobody gambled with Cana, as usual," Mira giggled.

Erza laughed when she noticed a slumped-over, half-drunk Cana at the bar. "No wonder."

"What did we miss?" Natsu asked curiously.

"Nothing much," Lisanna said when she came back with Happy's meal. "We just have some guests over. There's going to be another S-class trial."

"Yeah!" Natsu shouted and fist-pumped the air. "I'm going to get it this time!"

"You go Natsu!" Lucy said, cheering him on. She then noticed her best blue-haired friend sitting next to someone she assumed to be one of the guests. Lucy then decided to join them, leaving her team behind at the bar.

"Hey Levy!" Lucy greeted and slid in across her at the booth.

Levy looked up from her book with a smile. "Oh, hey Lu-chan! I was just looking for an enchantment to fix Nashi's hair over here. She's one of our guests, but some idiot snipped her hair off."

Nashi smiled and waved flamboyantly at Lucy.

"Hello, Nashi," Lucy greeted. "I'm Lucy."

"It's nice to meet you! What kind of magic do you do?"

Lucy smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. "I'm a Celestial Wizard, and you are?"

Nashi giggled. "A second generation dragon slayer, but now it seems my magic's messing with me."

"Why do you say so?" Levy asked.

Nashi shrugged. "I don't know. My attacks aren't as powerful for some reason. I'm an A-rank student at my magic academy. It's my first time at a guild!"

"Seriously?!" Both Lucy and Levy gushed.

"You'll love it here! Fairy Tail's like a family!" Lucy said happily.

"Yeah," Bisca added when she suddenly turned up with a glass vial in her hand. "It's the best guild to be at, mentally and success wise."

Nashi smiled at Bisca. "True. My mom used to be a Fairy Tail wizard, but I don't really know her or her magic all that well."

 _Lies._

"I grew up with my dad who knew a dragon slayer. That guy taught me my skills."

 _More lies._

"My dad doesn't have magic."

 _Three strikes, you're out._

"Really? Well, enough chit-chat, I need to fix your hair," Bisca interrupted, but her tone wasn't harsh. More loving, like the mother she really was.

 _Great, now Nashi had the perfect back-story. Nobody will figure her out. If only…._

Lucy was ripped from the conversation when suddenly Natsu dragged her out of the guild and she went flying behind.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, Nashi!"

"Come on Luce! I want to show you something!"


	2. Chapter 2

~Chapter 2~

 _ **NALU IS HAPPENING! WHAT WILL THIS MEAN FOR NASHI'S POWERS**_?

Lucy happily followed and over-excited Natsu out of the guild hall. He had his hand wrapped around her wrist and was tugging her along, all the way to the direction Lucy thought was the old guild hall. She was correct and then without a doubt she saw the building at the top of the hill. It was quite a distance from the one they were in minutes prior, but Natsu was impatient. He ran incredibly quickly, almost too quickly for Lucy to handle. Luckily she caught up with him last minute; just as he turned.

They were at the edge of the hill when Natsu slowed down. He had that cheesy smile on his face and Lucy couldn't resist his request to have him blindfold her. He used his muffler and tightly wrapped it around her head. From there on he held his hand on her back and carefully led to his chosen destination. He made sure she wouldn't trip and was thoroughly careful when she tried to sneak a peek.

"Where are you taking me?" Lucy demanded behind a giggle.

"You'll see," Natsu said.

"Excuse the pun," Lucy muttered sarcastically. Before Lucy could say anything else she felt her feet lift up from the ground. The sudden action caught her off guard and she could barely stifle a shriek.

"Hold on tight," Natsu ordered. She flailed around before finally clasping her arms around her partner's neck. She felt so out of it, she couldn't help but held on even tighter. At this action Natsu laughed loudly, but soon regretted it when Lucy elbowed him in the chest.

"Ow! Little miss violent!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Says the guy who destroys almost every town he visits on a mission," Lucy added sarcastically.

"Hey, hey, I might just turn around if you don't stop," Natsu teased.

"No," Lucy whined adorably. "Don't give up!"

"I won't give up!" Natsu chanted happily.

Lucy giggled and since she couldn't see much, she just rested her head on Natsu's chest, claiming as much comfort as she could gain. Natsu finally stopped and Lucy was tempted to lift up the muffler, but Natsu patted her hand away.

"Do me a favour and wrap your legs around my waist," Natsu commanded.

"Wha-?"

Before she could do anything else, Natsu had a change of plans and hoisted her up so that she was in a piggy-back style, with her arms and legs wrapped tightly around him.

"Plan B always works better," Natsu muttered and Lucy could almost hear the smirk on his face. Lucy smiled to herself and whispered, careful of Natsu's sharp hearing since she was so close to his ear.

"Tell that to Erza next time I'm forced to dress as a cat, nya!" Lucy said and added the little 'nya' for special effect.

"We did finish that job quickly," Natsu argued. "And only you were complaining."

"I wonder why," Lucy muttered. She revelled in the brief moment of silence that followed and noticed how warm Natsu was up close. Not flaming heat, but a comforting feeling, like holding a blanket tightly.

"You still can't see anything, right?" Natsu asked.

Lucy hummed and Natsu took that as a no. Suddenly she felt the ride get a slight bit bumpier. Her legs knocked against what Lucy assumed to be wood and she was about to question the instability she sensed when all of a sudden she was dropped on her feet and immediately felt the foreign surface. Why didn't she wear shoes that day? Oh yeah, right, because nothing went with the short sleeved denim jumpsuit she wore over that one white t with the heart on it.

Natsu swiftly unwrapped his scarf from her face and Lucy immediately felt itchy. Scarves aren't made for faces, she clarified.

The room seemed to be a small wooden cottage, but then noticing the tree-branch peeking in through the window and the rope-ladder down the side, did Lucy realise they were in a treehouse. It was decorated with throw pillows, blankets and even living flame lamps; better described as lamps that only kept a flame inside its bronze interior and nothing else.

Then there was the intoxicating smell of pine trees coming from the outside and when Lucy carefully treaded across the wooden floor to the window on the other side she immediately saw Magnolia. Lucy gasped in surprise and Natsu smiled at the way her eyes lit up.

There in hindsight were millions of lights from the houses in Magnolia and from where they were; you could see the Fairy Tail guild perfectly. Natsu shied closer, standing right behind her yet Lucy didn't notice or chose to ignore it. He carefully placed his finger under her chin and gently lifted it, allowing Lucy to see the sky.

Immediately a gasp escaped her lips. The sky was gleaming with twilight as the sunset settled on the horizon and the sky started lighting up with all the constellations Lucy knew. Natsu removed his hand from her chin and rested it on her shoulder with his head resting on hers. He followed her gaze as she stared at the night sky, studying the stars like she could touch them. (Given that she was a Celestial Wizard, she probably could.) Her left hand reached out to grab his right one resting on his shoulder as her lips elicited a gasp.

"Natsu, it's beautiful. I've never…"

"Yeah, you never see this many stars in the middle of Magnolia," Natsu added, soon becoming just as fascinated with the night sky as the blonde so close to him.

The sunset soon faded and the sky became dark for what seemed to be only a few seconds when like a Christmas tree, the sky filled with billions of light, lighting the world up more than any human light could.

"Let's take a seat!" Natsu suggested and sat down on one of the pillows. He swiftly pulled Lucy down with him, taking her by surprise, told this by that adorable little shriek _. Wait… adorable?_

It took him more by surprise was the way she landed flat on his chest, half straddling him. Her eyes widened in shock and Natsu was pretty sure he saw a blush painted on her face. She quickly sat up straight and fixed her eyes on the night sky once more.

"Sorry about that, Luce," Natsu muttered, sitting up straight himself. He stuck his gaze back on to Lucy's face and noticed how she was already transfixed at the night sky once more. It was beautiful to see someone so passionate about something and it almost seemed as if Lucy's eyes bore those passionate flames very few have.

"No problem," Lucy muttered meekly in response.

"Hey!" Natsu interrupts the silence. "How about you show me where all your spirits are in the sky?"

Lucy's eyes lit up as she briefly faced Natsu. She nodded eagerly and her eyes scanned for Aquarius. She finally found it and pointed it out to Natsu who frowned, obviously not seeing what she was seeing.

As she pointed out the rest of the pictures in the stars, Natsu made random jokes and strange comments, causing Lucy to curl over in laughter.

"How does Taurus look like a duck to you?!" Lucy spluttered in amusement, holding on to her side as her muscled ached from the continuous laughter.

"Well the pervert bull deserves being compared to a duck," Natsu mocked a British accent and folded his arms. "I see a duck and a duck it shall be."

Lucy just continued laughing and telling stories about the heavens, not bothering to correct Natsu any longer.

Around midnight though, Lucy could feel her eyes dropping slightly. She was exhausted and even Natsu looked ready to fall asleep at any given moment.

"Let's just take a nap," Lucy suggested and pulled a blanket over her as she made herself comfortable between all the pillows. She soon started drifting off, more exhausted than she thought she was.

"Can we share a blanket?" Natsu whispered curiously. Lucy shifted on the hard floor and opened one single eye, her brown eye meeting his onyx shade. She frowned.

"Did you really forget to bring any extra blankets?" she asked. That was not the only question she had though. Why did he need a blanket? Wasn't Natsu a natural heater? What was with the sudden desire to be close to her anyway? She decided that maybe Mira would answer some of her questions. For now, Lucy merely lifted up the blanket allowing Natsu to cuddle up to her, closely. He was warm and Lucy could not deny that it was no different from usual, so she barely acknowledged this really. She was quite a bit more exhausted than Natsu and felt herself drifting off as soon as she rested her head on his chest, using his arm as a pillow. It was nice and firm, like the pillow at home.

"Luce?" Natsu whispered, interrupting her fight for a decent sleep.

"Mm?" she hummed patiently, waiting for his request or random 'I can't sleep' thing. Instead she was surprised when Natsu asked her something that made her heart beat stop.

"Luce… will you, um, go out with me?"

Her eyes shot open and locked with Natsu's. Despite it being dark, she could see the furious blush on his face with the help of the stars. Just thinking about said light resonating from the sky, she could hear her keys jingle somewhere in the dark. They were eavesdropping. Damn spirits….

"Wha-?" Lucy started, before Natsu interrupted her.

"I mean if you don't want to, you don't have to… it's not like I have any experience or anything and… I don't … can you teach me how to be a boyfriend?"

"Teach you?" Lucy choked out. She was in so much shock, she could barely think straight; never mind control her raging hormones.

"Yeah like, what do couples do? How do they act?" Natsu urged. "I know I'm pretty stupid, but… I don't know… Gray told me the only way for me to understand my feelings towards you is to… I don't know, ask you out, but I don't know how…"

"Ok!" Lucy agreed all of a sudden, sitting up straight. "Lesson number one to being a good boyfriend: listen to what your girl has to say. If not, it may just not be the happiest relationship."

"Uh… ok?"

"Lesson number two: cuddles aren't optional. Number three: don't forget anniversaries!"

Natsu just stared at her, trying to take all of this newfound information in. If he wanted to keep her happy, he might have a lot of work ahead of him. This included: listening. Lucy trailed off, noticing his expression and suddenly she giggled. Her giggles turning into full-bloomed laughter.

"Why do you look so serious?" Lucy asked, still giggling slightly.

"I'm listening," Natsu explained earnestly.

"I was joking with you!" Lucy exclaimed, locking eyes with her best frie – boyfriend. "We'll figure this dating thing out together. We can try other stuff couples do and see what suits us best."

Natsu was visibly relieved. "So I don't have to dress up fancy for dates and stuff, right?"

Lucy hesitated, pondering this question, "Only on special occasions."

"Special?"

"You know, like anniversary dates and when either of us have announcements or request for the other one that's special or something."

"Oh, I get it," Natsu muttered. "Like if I want to do something crazy like invite you to live with me, then I'd wear a suit and tie and we'd go out on a fancy date!"

"Yeah, but let's not rush things," Lucy added hastily, turning scarlet at the idea of possibly moving in with Natsu at such a near date.

"Yeah," Natsu agreed, lying flat on the ground once more, still keeping his eye on Lucy. "Are you tired?"

"A little," Lucy admitted sheepishly.

"Well then, let's go to sleep," Natsu suggested, but just as he said it, he was cut short at the sound of agonized wailing. He and Lucy shot up, jumping up in shock. They hesitated for a minute or two when they heard it again.

"What's that?"

"Sounds like someone got hurt," Natsu muttered carefully. When they heard it again, both of them went chasing out of the treehouse, out into the direction the screams were coming from. When they both were down on the forest floor, Lucy with the help of Natsu, they heard commotion. It was all around the forest and they were surprised they heard nothing while resting in the quiet interior of the homey-treehouse. With Natsu's keen sense of hearing, they followed the screams and wails. Lucy felt a familiar terror at the sound, holding tightly onto Natsu's hand to guide her through the forest.

Her feet were bleeding and blistered, but she followed swiftly behind. She was even more surprised when they ran into Erza along the way.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"We heard screaming. It's coming from that way," Natsu said with a head gesture in the direction they were heading.

"Thanks," Erza said and swiftly re-quipped into her flight armour, following the shouts herself. Lucy smelled the electricity in the air and she had a strange feeling Laxus was around. Then another person came into her line of thoughts when someone shouted Mira's name.

Then as if fate made a twisted turn, she was met with the sights that lead them there.

Many of them found themselves all surrounding one boy, that many of them being Lucy, Natsu, Erza, Mirajane, Laxus and a man Lucy immediately assumed to be Jellal. In the middle of the circle was a boy with scarlet red hair, blood surrounding his head resting on the dirty forest floor as he clutched his eye, whimpering in pain.

"We finally found the boy," Laxus breathed out heavily.

"He has a head wound and it looks deep," Jellal said and dropped down next to the boy. He placed his hand underneath the boy's head where the wound was suspected to be. The boy barely moved, but managed to scream in pain at the sudden touch.

"Luce," Natsu said in a firm tone, "Let's get that medic kit up in the tree-house. I'm pretty sure I left one there."

Lucy nodded and followed Natsu, leaving the rest behind. Mira joined Jellal on the ground as she carefully guided his hand away from where he was covering his eye.

Erza gasped in shock, realizing it being on the same side as her own artificial eye. Not only that, but she was left frozen when she noticed the damage – it was bleeding profusely as a needle and thread hung loosely over his cheek. It appeared he was trying to stitch his eye lids shut.

"Storm," Mira commanded, on the verge of tears, "Are you alright?"

Storm sobbed, clutching at her dress, staining it with blood. Mira almost sobbed herself at the sight as the wound on his head starting bleeding worse, staining her dress even more. She didn't care though; she was more intent on the child in agonizing pain.

"I'll go get help," Laxus said all of a sudden and fled as soon as he said it. It was obvious he didn't want to see the gruesome sight any longer.

"Who is he?" Erza whispered.

"He's one of the students from the Fiore Magic Academy helping with the S-class trials," Mira quickly explained. "Damn it, he's losing a lot of blood!"

Jellal suddenly lifted Storm into his arms and started walking to the direction Natsu and Lucy were headed. Mirajane would have giggled, had the situation not been so serious. Jellal was cradling Storm like a baby; it appeared the child was in excruciating pain. The bleeding failed to cease and Jellal was getting quite concerned about the eye too. It was scary how much the child reminded him of Erza. The eye, the scarlet hair and the way he held himself as if he was not in any pain, yet everyone could see he was hurting.

"Jellal!" Natsu shouted from the distance.

"Natsu, where are you?" Jellal responded. He saw a flame light and he also saw he was alone with a silver case in his arms.

"Lucy went back to the girl's dorm to get Wendy," Natsu explained. Erza and Mirajane appeared behind Jellal.

"Patch up the wound; I'm heading to the guild to inform Master that we found the child and then making sure Wendy and Lucy find us there," Erza ordered. "Be quick about it too. We don't have much time."

\- (Scene Change) -

It was too early. Far too early for this.

Carla had been complaining for what seemed like forever at the intrusion Lucy made, even after they were at the guild and Wendy was working on Storm.

"Why don't you just go back to the dorms and have a rest," Lucy proposed, since she was one of the few at the guild at such an early hour. In fact the exchange students, Natsu, Lucy, Wendy, Laxus, Mirajane, Erza, Jellal and Master were the few to be at the guild (and a certain pair of white and blue exceeds).

"And leave the child here? Not a chance," Carla exclaimed sourly.

Lucy rolled her eyes. She hated dealing with grumpy exceeds. They were ten times worse to deal with than humans.

She huffed, resting her head on the table counter in an attempt to gain some sort of rest, unlike the albino exceed. Where was Natsu when you needed him?

Lucy glanced around in search of her partner, only to find him talking to Laxus in some serious looking conversation. Realising sleep was not an option, Lucy went over to Natsu in a daze.

"Hey guys," Lucy mumbled. Natsu grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Hiya Luce!"

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Food," Natsu said earnestly.

"Yeah, by the way what's your favourite food?" Laxus queried.

"Umm…" Lucy mumbled. "Don't have any."

"See!" Natsu exclaimed. Soon their babble faded in with the rest of the guilds.

Despite it being so early, Mira was already setting up for the day, stating that it was no use sitting around. In fact when the council messenger arrived at around 5 am he almost fell over in shock at the fact that the entire guild was practically crowded with people. He dropped of the jobs and left, obviously thinking that he missed something.

Master had excused himself and was napping in his office. Wendy left a while later, claiming she was finished and everyone who stayed behind should just keep an eye on him in case the bandages and stitches became misplaced. Lisanna and Elfman came by at around six am taking Mira with them, seeing as they were concerned about their sister's sleeping habits. A while after Erza and Jellal went into the infirmary in an attempt to talk to the red haired twelve-year-old.

Laxus headed back to his own apartment saying something about breakfast Freed was preparing.

That left Natsu and Lucy alone in the middle of the guild hall.

"Do you want to go back home?" Natsu asked a little too late. Lucy had fallen asleep his shoulder. Oh well, might as well take her home.

-(Scene Change)-

"Olè!" Nashi chanted as she danced across the infirmary room ( **like Alois fudging Trancy** ).

Storm just groaned as he clutched his head while Nashi danced.

"Ah come on, Storm. Smile! You're alive and not going to die anytime soon…" Nashi trailed off when she saw the look he was giving her. "You're no fun."

Storm only shrugged. He casually continued sipping his water as he stared at the pacing Nashi. She was a skipping bundle of energy and Storm was exhausted just by looking at her.

"Are you going to tell either your mom or dad just before we leave?" Nashi asked.

Storm knew what she was talking about and ever since that argument with his mother a few years in their own time, he never even thought he'd look at her without venom in his eyes.

He shook his head.

Nashi sighed as she hopped on one leg. "I'd like to tell mom and dad. They are in a relationship."

Storm gave her another look.

"Okay, okay, mom might just faint, but it's not like I'm going to tell anyone else."

Storm rolled his eyes and placed the glass on the bedside table.

Nashi noticed this and exaggerated an eye roll at Storm. "Puh-lease, a pre-teen can't be more mature than me! Like seriously, look at Danielle! She's an exact copy of her parents! Water magic, black hair: the works! She even strips!"

Storm laughed and Nashi smiled. They heard a knock on the door and then Mirajane poked her head through the door. ( **Not literally! Lol that'd be epic! #doortransformationmagic**!)

"Oh, hello Nashi. How are you feeling, Storm?" Mirajane asked, having not entered the room yet.

Storm only shrugged.

"Ah, ok. Just call if you need anything," Mirajane said. Storm gave Nashi a look and she laughed loudly. Mira blushed loudly when she realised her choice of words and she quickly added: "Or you can have Nashi call one of us."

Storm smiled. He gave her thumbs up and Mira left soon after.

"Well, isn't she nice," Nashi said. Storm nodded eagerly.

"You know I've never seen you this happy in a long time," Nashi commented. Storm shrugged, still with a smile on his face. He tapped his wrist, staring pointedly at Nashi.

"Um… I think it's about 2 pm or something," Nashi said with shrug. "Why?"

Storm pointed at his stomach.

"I get it you're hungry," Nashi said glancing at him. Storm nodded with a smile still on his face. Nashi sighed and left the room. On the way she mumbled lazily: "I'll go ask Mirajane."

"Finally," Storm mumbled as he noticed her leave. "I can go find dad now."

He sat up straight and winced when he felt the sudden ache in his head. "Or I could just stay behind and plan the S-class trials…"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3~

 **(A leetle beetle Fraxus in this scene. I hope you like! - A)**

"Did you hear something?" Nashi asked when she came back with Storm's lunch about half-an-hour later. He frowned and shook his head.

"I could have sworn I heard someone talking in here…" Nashi mumbled, placing the tray next to his bedside. "Hey, they're going to announce the S-class applicants any moment! Do you want to go watch and tally up what we need to know when testing them?"

Storm shrugged as he placed the tray on his lap. He carefully ate, slowly, in an attempt to not lose his appetite, had the food been rotten. Turns out was delicious! The stew was delicious – soft potatoes and sweet carrots… Storm hadn't tasted this type of heaven in a long time… almost like when he still went with his mother to the guild…

He scooped up a heaped spoon and bit the head, taking the whole lot in at once.

He moaned, taking Nashi by surprise.

"Don't get a food-gasm," she teased. Storm smiled, slowly swallowing and then shook his head as he looked at Nashi.

"Mira's quite good at making food. She said she'll teach me one day!" Nashi babbled excitedly. Storm's working eye lit up at the prospect that he'd taste this again. He nodded happily. He ate another spoonful as Nashi babbled on. He barely finished when he heard the loud voice of the master when the guild calmed down slightly. He slipped out of bed taking Nashi my surprise. She had not expected him to be up so quickly, what with the anti-inflammatory tablets Wendy supplied him earlier.

He waved Nashi over with one hand and walked over to the door. He opened it and was immediately met with a wave of noise. It also appeared that Selene turned up at some point or another. She was standing between Danielle and Lamina.

"… Ten people, as I've said before, will be the lucky ones to have a chance at the trials. I've categorised your skills, accordingly. If you are one of a kind in the guild, you may have quite a chance at achieving a spot, but this…"

Master hesitated with that usual twinkle in his eyes.

"… Will be the most grueling trials so far!"

Storm watched as the guild took glances and shouts at the students and most importantly – him. He was still standing outside the infirmary door as he watched the noisy guild.

"I'm so going to kick your ass at this!" Natsu bellowed at Gray.

"Oh, yeah! WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!" Gray shouted even louder and the two went on into a bickering.

Juvia was trying to wake Cana who seemed to have fainted. Wendy was looking nervous, Lucy was still sleepy, Freed looked determined and the rest seemed curious.

"The location will be remote and possibly below freezing point – just a warning," Master continued over the noise. "Next, I would like to announce the candidates."

The entire hall fell silent with anticipation – even Natsu and Gray ceased their fighting.

"In order of eligibility – Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Cana Alberona, Lisanna Strauss, Freed Justine, Juvia Lockser, Wendy Marvel, Gajeel Redfox, Lucy Heartfilia and Elfman Strauss."

"Eligibility?"

"Natsu's first?"

"How did Lucy get there? She's one of our strongest?"

"Yeah, right, since when?"

"Go Gajeel!"

"What about Levy?"

"Freed probably beat her in her own category."

"Or maybe it was Cana."

"Doesn't master realise he made all the Dragon Slayers eligible?"

"I thought it went according to category?"

These were many of the whispers that followed, but the competitors nor Master seemed to notice. It was a stirring pot of dark envy and sickly green shades of jealousy.

"I'm last on the list!?" Elfman shrieked, but his fury went unnoticed. Those who were mentioned celebrated and were congratulated. Lucy just sat back as she felt her pride bubble up in her. She had a furious blush on her face. She was fortunately plucked off from her seat and spun around as Natsu congratulated her. When he was done, he hugged her tightly, allowing the entire guild to coo at the sweet exchange.

"Ah," Mira sighed, as she watched from the bar, "Those two have such a romantic relationship. It seems I truly have an eye for those who will fall in love!"

"Yet you never know who you're crushing on," Lisanna teased. Mira went red in the face and swiftly chucked the dishrag in her hand into the direction of her cheeky sister, before she returned to serving the never ending hole that was the Fairy-Tail men's stomachs.

"Meet me at ten o'clock sharp out front of the guild!" The master bellowed one last phrase.

The celebration went on happily. The cheers echoed and Nashi left Storm to go talk to her friends. As she left to them, she barely noticed Storm being whisked off by Mirajane.

"Hey guys," Nashi greeted when she got to the table the twins, Danielle, Selene and Giselle were sitting at.

"Hey!" all four of them shouted _in unison_. "This is creepy," they continued, also _in unison_.

"Okay, guys," Nashi interrupted awkwardly. "What happened?"

All of them shrugged, also _in_ _unison_ and then _all_ of them got identical horrified looks on their faces. Nashi nodded slowly and walked away with her hands in the air in slight defeat. "Enough of the creepy…" she mumbled to herself as she went to find a peaceful spot.

The students were all gathered, alongside the S-class mages and the ones doing the trial.

"Thank you all for gathering," the master said with a mischievous smile, "I would like to discuss the rules and the details about this trial. As I've said before, this won't be easy and to prove this, I have recruited Fiore Magic Academy's best students. You will not only fight them, but you will have to outwit them. Part one of the trial is all my doing, but the rest is in their hands. What with them being kids, I'd prefer if you don't try to manipulate them in any way!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Freed said.

"Aye!" Gray and Natsu chanted.

"Good," Master continued, "As for the location. It will be the coldest place you know… I believe Gray won't be stripping as much as we thought. Given that it is a fair distance off and we will be holding the trials for a month, we will be living in a lodge! So girls remember the bikini's because those hot-springs won't be bathed in on its own!"

Some of the guys laughed while the girls scowled. Danielle found it completely amusing and made the remark Lemasiin was dreading. "Does it have to be bikinis? I'm not too fond of covering up."

The master only laughed, shrugging her comment off as a joke.

"I also want to add that since the trials will be different this year, we won't allow teamwork," Makarov added. Several gasps came from the group and even the S-class wizards were taken aback.

"Master," Erza interrupted, "What is the meaning of the trials intensifying?"

"You'll see when we get there," Selene explained before anyone else could. "But it's like our average exams. You'll survive."

Master Makarov continued. "Given that the trials will be harder, you all have a month of training and those who live alone… I suggest you pay your rent for the next two months before disaster strikes."

Lucy huffed, thinking about the landlady she had. Oh gosh, that would be hell. Speaking of rent, she had to pay up in a few days.

"Without further ado, I will let you off. If needed, you can collect missions from Mira now oh and, get ready for the Christmas party the day before we leave!"

With that, the chatter dispersed. Gray walked Juvia home, much to their surprises. Natsu and Lucy headed back to her home and the rest went either to the guild or headed singly back. Freed hesitated behind, waiting for Laxus to finish up.

"Let's go," Laxus said in a low tone and Freed followed swiftly behind. As the two headed to their apartment, Laxus suddenly froze. They were in the middle of Magnolia, perhaps a block away from the park. A loud sets of bangs and howling erupted a few feet from them, but neither saw anything.

"Laxus," Freed said stiffly, "I think we should be quick in heading back."

"No," Laxus chastised, "We're going to find that ruckus and make sure those assholes don't interrupt anyone's sleep." He meant it as a joke, but was disappointed when Freed didn't even react.

He started sparking like a plug as he followed the noise, not even waiting for any other answer from Freed. The green-haired script mage followed behind anyway, not daring to disobey Laxus. The noise got louder as they followed it to the park. Soon, cries of pain and gasps came closer. They could hear it all, before they saw it, but the sounds failed to steel their nerves in time.

When they got there, they were unfortunate to hear the lack of cries. All for one reason:

The middle of the park, right beneath the Sakura tree, laid the mutilated body of a young girl. Her auburn hair was spread out beneath her head and her eyes were clawed out and blood splattered across her face. That was only the head. Her dress was ripped and her intestines were hanging out from the hole in both her stomach and chest.

Her left leg was twisted in no way humanly possible. The last thing Freed noticed before he got distracted; was the purple bruises around her neck. She died while being choked and tortured.

There a few feet from the girl was a pack of… werewolves?

Freed took no hesitation in flitting around them, creating a line of runes, writing the rules as he went along. He covered enough ground for the battle to commence, but still keep it where it was supposed to be.

"Only one victor can survive this fight. If none or more than one survives, the wall will not fall."

Laxus was battling it out with the wolf-men soon after. They were vicious beasts – more muscle than mind. It was without doubt that with Freed on his side, what with being crazy intelligent and all, he would be able to take these beasts down.

"Lightning dragon roar!" Lightning sparked forward when Laxus shouted it out in fury. It took him by surprise when the wolves started howling pathetically.

Of course that one attack wasn't all Laxus had up his fur-coat sleeve. An electric storm was brewing in the sky and he would be able to control where it hit. While the sky charged, Laxus punched and tackled and kicked most of the enemies into oblivion, but he was having a hard time killing them. They had skin like rubber and rubber wasn't a kind thing to electrons.

Freed watched in a distance, carefully locking his eyes on the critical attacks they made; both Laxus and the werewolves. It was an animated fight with the way they moved and tackled, yet Laxus didn't seem to notice and was more offensive than defensive, using about the same skills as Natsu did in a typical fight. It didn't appear to be that Laxus was fully into this fight.

As Freed watched from the tree, he suddenly heard a menacing growl and before he knew it, claws sunk into his back. He screamed out in pain. It was so immense he hadn't realised how deep it went, when suddenly the wolf struck a nerve – literally.

His screams became anguished as he had no means of fighting the wolf properly. This creature was more wolf than man. He seemed to be twice the size of the other wolves.

Freed managed to hold on to a firm branch in attempt to stabilize himself. He grabbed his sword and without thinking, stabbed the creature in the chest. He was soon released, but the sword only seemed to aggravate the beast.

He pulled his sword out and a purple liquid spattered across his face. Freed winced twice when his face got swiped and then burned intensely.

"You bastard!" Freed shouted defiantly. He went falling all of a sudden, but before he hit the ground he managed to grab on to one of the branches. He remained dangling until suddenly the werewolf neared closer.

And to think, during the day it was such a lovely spot to be.

Now they were being attacked by moody wolves.

He saw an open spot and stabbed the thing straight in the chest, his sword in to the hilt. The beast whined and continued scratching, this time across Freed's own chest. The cut was deep, but not fatal. At least not yet. Then the wolf seemed to gain IQ points when he noticed the hand Freed was using to hold on to the tree. The hound stepped on the branch, right on his hand. He bit it and growled into Freed's face. Freed then pulled the sword out and shoved the beast off the branch with a swinging kick. Freed heard the wolf land on the ground with a dull thud and sickening crunch.

He landed on the tree and was able to watch Laxus once more.

Laxus on the other hand was also covered in scratches and was bleeding profusely, but he seemed unhindered at the results so far. He fought with fury and adrenaline clear in his eyes. They were golden and sparking magically. Freed was almost entranced as he watched the two wolves and Laxus fight.

It was terrifying.

Then the wolves made a stupid move and tackled the electric dragon slayer at once. He countered the attack as a finale, by grabbing the by the scruffs of their necks. He raised them up and with brutal force Freed had never seen, he smashed the heads together. He dropped them soon after and the runes disappeared with a dull flash.

Freed exhaled, not realising he'd been holding his breath all along.

He climbed down and limped over to Laxus due to the pain in his torso.

Laxus spun around, his eyes widening in shock.

"Freed…" Laxus breathed out, a slight frown on his face, yet he still seemed concentrated. "What happened… to you?"

Freed shrugged, trying to act nonchalant, but his wincing gave him away.

"I got rid of the alpha wolf. What should we do now, Laxus?"

"Uh… run?"

Freed frowned and turned around to see if Laxus was seeing something he wasn't. Then guess what he saw? A muzzle in line with his face, dripping yellow fluid.

So the two ran for their life like the cowards they were.

The end.

-Scene Change-

 **(P.S if you haven't noticed, I casted Hikaru and Kaoru from OHSHC so enjoy… the slight crossover! ;) BTW if you have not seen Ouran High School Host Club, then I suggest you go spam YouTube for that crazy gender-confused anime. It's pretty damn awesome.)**

"No!" Danielle shrieked. "Never! You are a horrid person, Selene!"

"Come on," Selene whined as she leaned across the table. Danielle rolled her eyes and pushed Selene's face away, not bothering to even look at her even longer. "You're no fun." Selene pouted and sat back down on her seat.

"Be serious, please," Giselle mumbled. "I don't want a damn failing grade." She hesitated and glanced at the twins. "And boys! STOP YOUR BRAWLING! WE HAVE WORK TO DO!"

The two of them pouted surprisingly symmetrical. If only Kid was there…

"Who ate your porridge, Giselle?" Lamina asked.

Giselle sweat-dropped dramatically and deadpanned, "If you two numbskulls don't remember, then I must inform you, you two stole my bacon this morning."

"Oh yeah," the twins said simultaneously. "Now we remember." They came face to face with Giselle and said, "We're kind of sorry about that."

Giselle didn't even bother looking at the twins and muttered sarcastically, "No problem."

She returned her gaze back to the two girls who were planning the trials, only to find Danielle attempting to strangle Selene.

"Help!" the potion master yelled as she clawed at the hands around her neck. "I'm dying over here!"

Nashi sighed dramatically as she entered the room with Storm on her tail. "No, Selene, you're not. You'll get out of her hold in 3… 2…"

Selene saw what Nashi was saying and saw and exit technique at the same time. It was also obvious to her that Danielle never actually tried hurting her when Selene lifted up her legs so that her stomach was touching her upper-legs and kicked. Danielle lost her grip and stumbled back.

"One," Nashi finished proudly. "Have you guys started yet?"

Her hands were clasped tightly when she sat down. She checked the paper they were using for planning and she literally felt a cold sweat form on her neck. Her eye twitched and she opted for burning it right then and there.

"You guys are useless…" she mumbled. Nashi stood up and trudged out of the room. She came back a minute or two with her text books in her hand. She dropped them on the table with a loud bang and sat down soon after in a backwards chair and her legs draped over the sides.

Storm grabbed at one of them and immediately started reading. He was a fair amount younger, and despite his elevation in magic power, the school never allowed him to advance no matter how smart or skilled he was.

Giselle nodded as each one of them took on of the text-books from the table. It was one of the easier ways to figure out tests for the trials.

Silence fell over and Nashi was pretty sure Lemasiin fell asleep at the table next to them. Storm had curled up in his cloak and was sitting in one of the booths, reading silently to himself. His lips moved as if he was sounding out the words, but Nashi had a suspicion he was trying to talk.

Giselle had placed her legs on the table and was holding the book like a guitar as she read to herself. She was wearing her own set of Gale-reading glasses. Nashi had been an idiot and forgot her set back at home. Her mother was going to be so mad.

Lamina had taken a book on Celestial Wizardry. Nashi, being not only the oldest, but the leader of the gang, quickly scribbled a note to him on a piece of paper.

She passed it over to him and he barely glanced at it, when he nodded.

 _Are you doing Lucy's testing? If so, make it gruelling. She tougher than she looks…_

Nashi was definitely not planning on going easy on these guys. She was almost too eager for the trials actually and she wasn't planning on letting Master Makarov down. She couldn't make any of this easy. Not when other guilds would be able to see the intensity of these tests. She was so going to kick Lamia Scale's butt! No stupid frost wizard was going to stand in her way!

Danielle who was studying Geography suddenly scribbled down something on her piece of paper.

Travel to the Japanese Alps. Retrieve within the 7 caves each of the following:

blood of a Vulcan (1 cup)

Hippogriff feathers (200 grams)

Fur of an Amarok

A single tusk from an Erymanthian Boar. (2 or more will give you and extra point.)

Skin from the Gog Magog.

The eye from the Sleipner.

A vial of water from the cave where the Loch Ness Monster dwells.

Nashi almost scowled at the last one. That Loch Ness monster who was supposed to be in Scotland somehow had the nerve to intercept her own exams a few years prior when she was supposed to get something from one of the caves. He wasn't very violent, just extremely annoying. For a thing with a long neck it never seemed to be able to look past anyone's flaws and somehow got extremely peeved at the blonde highlights in Nashi's hair.

And never get Nashi started on the "she's too fat" statements she got thrown her way back then. She was throwing off dark magic for a week.

"This is pretty challenging. May even take a few weeks to complete," Nashi murmured. Storm had joined the rest at the table and was leaning over Nashi's shoulder. She barely registered this and when she did, she almost had a heart-attack. Nashi reeled back with shock coursing through her veins. She could have sworn Storm had been somewhere completely else just a second ago.

"Dammit, kid! Don't scare me like that!" Nashi yelled. Lamina laughed, while the rest barely even looked up from their books.

They were all interrupted when the guild doors opened up to reveal Mirajane.

"Oh, hello guys," Mirajane said.

"Oh, hey Mirajane. What are you doing here?" Giselle asked.

Mirajane headed for behind the bar to retrieve what seemed to be a leather bag. "Oh, I just came to get Lisanna's bag. She's so forgetful sometimes!"

Storm laughed and nodded to himself.

Suddenly Selene appeared from her seat somewhere in the guild. "Mira! You are a godsend!"

Mira laughed, almost in shock. It was quite unusual for her to hear that. She was used to compliments, but this one was new.

"Why?"

Selene ran up to Mira in a rush. "Do you have the keys to the infirmary and the kitchen, oh and also the back door?"

"I repeat, why?"

"I need ingredients for one of my new potions," Selene quickly added.

"Oh, I can help you get them right now," Mira said.

Selene blushed, most likely from embarrassment. "That would be nice," Selene said. She quickly followed Mirajane into the kitchen. Luckily for her, Mira never asked what she was planning on making. She got very little from the kitchen, but luckily she got some from the infirmary too.

"Is that all you need?" Mira asked as she locked the infirmary door behind her.

Selene nodded. "All I need now is a Sakura blossom straight from the tree and a big pot!"

"Well you know where to get the pot. Feel free to use the kitchen to most of your advantage. It shouldn't be locked," Mira said. Selene smile and without thinking, hugged Mirajane.

"Thanks," she whispered. Selene released and awkwardly rubbed her arm. It was some of the traits she got from her mother….

"No problem. I best get going before Lisanna gets worried," Mira said. She left soon after, with Selene following to join her friends.

"Bye Mira!" Nashi greeted as she was leaving.

"Sayonara!" the twins added. Mira giggled as she closed the door.

"Be careful out there!" Danielle quickly added.

The room quietened down soon after. Some of the gang went up to bed until only Storm and Selene were downstairs. Storm was still reading in his little booth while Selene was behind the bar, experimenting.

Storm was feeling maybe a little lonely, so he took the thick book and sat at the bar. He continued reading there.

"Aren't you going to bed?" Selene asked Storm. She chucked in a bunch of rosemary she had just chopped up, following by a whole block of butter. Storm shook his head. He grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled something on it.

Are you making a potion or a stew?

Selene scowled at him. "It's a potion, smartass."

Storm shrugged off the mean statement like it was a bunch of dirt thrown on his head. Literally.

"Say," Selene started, "What's up with you never talking?"

Storm gave her a look saying that he wasn't planning on telling her. Of course Selene misread this when suddenly Storm said, "I prefer not to."

His voice had a strange ring to it and it made Selene's ears ache. She grabbed her ear and when she looked at her head after feeling something damp, she noticed blood. Storm nodded his head in the direction of her bloody hand.

"Oh, I see," Selene mumbled. "What in the hell…"

Storm grabbed another piece of paper and wrote something down. He took longer than Selene was expecting. He finally finished it and slid the paper over to Selene.

Remember that time when I disappeared for two weeks? When my mother was freaking out so much after our argument? Well, I was on a mission. I was cursed, so now each time I speak I cause people pain. That's why I haven't said a word in two years if someone else was in the room. That is, until now. I'm sorry, though. The bleeding should be gone by tomorrow. I didn't say enough to cause permanent damage.

Selene's face fell. She gasped and held her hand in front of her mouth. She hadn't realised and now she was feeling extremely guilty.

"I- I never realised. I am so sorry Storm," Selene mumbled. Storm shrugged once more. He picked up his text book and left Selene alone. Selene was feeling extremely guilty – she always believed Storm was messed up or seeking attention. Now… this was something completely different. It was her turn to be a little nicer for once.


	4. Chapter 4

~Chapter 4~

"Hey Erza," Wendy greeted the morning after the trials as the two girls headed out.

"Hello Wendy. Did you sleep well?" Erza asked. She was trying to be nice and considerate, but when Wendy shook her head, she was taken by surprise.

"I wish. I've been studying late, preparing for the trials," Wendy admitted sheepishly. "Carla went out to who knows where and I was nervous the whole night."

Erza nodded grimly. "The trials do sound scary this year. I don't quite understand Master's motive behind this. It sounds worse than when I had to do the trials…"

"How did you get S-class anyways?" Wendy enquired. She turned around as she skipped; facing Erza even though she was walking ahead.

"It's a long story," Erza said sheepishly.

Wendy merely shrugged and said, "I have time."

Meanwhile at the other side of Fiore…

"I'm so pissed off," a black haired girl snarled to herself. She had accidently moved ahead too quickly and had lost her partner, Reiki. It was in the blinding heat of day and the desert was not her friend. Not only was he falling behind, but she had also run out of magic. Plus that stupid frost mage just had to forget that they were supposed to go with the gang. So what if her parents were already married and she already existed in that time space!?

On the bright side she still had a mortal gun safely in the cutlass around her waist.

"Celestial Flight light: Harlot mass!" someone yelled in the distance and before she knew it a blinding flash shot past her. A few hundred meters from her spot, the person stopped suddenly and opted for running at his own pace. Good thing he wasn't as slow as his mother.

With a few seconds to spare before Asuka stood, Reiki arrived. "Hey," the blonde said, almost completely out of breath. Asuka smiled brightly, masking her annoyance. She just couldn't stay mad at Reiki, no matter how hard she tried.

Of course she wasn't crushing on him! She had babysat him and his twin sister when they were mere babies and she – a confused teen with a grounded punishment above her head because she accidently shot a council official, had been forced the worst job possible! Definitely the worst two months of her life!

"Hey," Asuka greeted. She stood up from her spot and faced him. "You took your time."

Reiki panicked and bowed down hastily, apologizing at a rapid pace.

Asuka laughed and threw her braid over her shoulder. "Gosh, I thought you'd get over that. I'm not that scary!"

Reiki scowled at her logic. Of course not – she was an expert gunslinger and Erza Scarlett's apprentice. _She wasn't scary at all_ – note the sarcasm.

Plus the twenty-seven-year old had been pissed off for a few weeks after her boyfriend dumped her and Reiki was forced to accompany her on this mission. Of course he didn't want to in fear that his spirits wouldn't be able to come to him. That was unfortunately true since his mother had almost all his keys at that time space.

All except for Pisces, but he still wasn't sure if someone had that one either.

"Where we headed?" Reiki asked. He was hunched over, trying to catch his breath. Asuka didn't answer him immediately. She had one of her most prized guns in her hands – it had no title, but it shot faster than the speed of light and was made entirely of rare metals. It was beautiful… But, a scratch was lining the body of the gun. Her eyes widened in shock and suddenly an ear-shattering screech sounded across the sandy desert.

"MY GUN!"

"WHAT ABOUT IT! IT'S RIGHT THERE IN YOUR HANDS!" Reiki exclaimed, waving his arms around comically.

"It has a scratch on it," Asuka sobbed. She fell to her knees and dramatically started sobbing.

Reiki sighed at the girl's weakness. Now they would be behind schedule for at least another few days!

Oh, well, might as well find an inn nearby while she cries. And with that thought, Reiki, using the decreased speed of light, ran off to the nearest town in search of an inn.

A few days later…

The guild was a peaceful place that afternoon, given that most of the mages entering the S-Class trials had gone off for training, including a few of the already S-class mages. Wendy and Erza had gone off, Natsu and Lucy, Gray and Juvia, Freed and the rest of the Thunder Legion, Elfman on his own and finally Cana and Lisanna, much to everyone's surprise. Gildarts was also nowhere to be seen. Kinana and Laki were helping behind the bar, given that Mirajane was gone too on a mission of her own.

The original transfer students all went out on a few missions of their own – an S-class one to be precise – given that Storm and Nashi both bore the title of S-class mages.

Master Makarov was out at a meeting, so if chaos broke out there would be absolute no one to stop it: all except the inexperienced barmaids.

The only other thing out of the ordinary was the new guy who had joined a few days earlier. He was sitting in the front corner of the guild, mostly hidden from sight. Since neither Master Makarov nor Mirajane was present, he was still awaiting his mark, but other than that, he didn't say anything. He only sat there, his blonder hair spiked up and his face a look of concentration as he stared down at the leather bound book in front of him.

The reasonably peacefulness of the guild was pierced when a monstrous roar echoed from a distance.

"Did Natsu-san make that noise?" Romeo wondered aloud and was relieved when the guild became a degree or so warmer. It was obviously his idol. Then another thought struck him – if Natsu made that loud a roar and Lucy was with him then…?

He shook away that thought. Natsu would never hurt Lucy, even if he was being reckless. If he did though, who knew what would happen?

Master Makarov took that moment to return back to the guild, followed by smiles and cheers, but for some reason the boy with the blonde spikes made no movement to go up and do something.

"Romeo, I would like to speak to you," Master Makarov said.

Said mage glanced up at the Master, his eyes wide in shock. "Me?" Romeo asked, tensely pointing his finger to himself.

Makarov nodded and chuckled good-heartedly. "You're not in trouble. Come with me."

The Master hopped off of his chair and a slightly relieved Romeo followed. The duo arrived at the main office, belonging to the guild master.

Romeo promptly dropped down onto the chair, his childish attitude masking the intense beating of his nervous heart. "So, why am I here?"

Master Makarov didn't answer until he sat down. "You're not in trouble Romeo, so relax."

"In all defence, I've never been in your office so I have all right to be nervous."

Makarov sweat-dropped and muttered under his breath, "I know who to assign you to." He regained his composure and started to explain his plan to the kid. "Recently I have been thinking about the next generation of Fairy Tail and you're a part of it. You see, I haven't told any of the participants this, but I believe two new S-class mages will be in order. I want you, Wendy, Asuka and a few others under the guidance of Fairy Tail's strongest. I must ask you though: are you willing?"

Romeo sat there, frozen in shock. He feebly nodded. "But who am I going to be assigned to?"

Master Makarov thought about it for a millisecond before saying, "If Natsu makes S-class, I want you to be under his guidance, but if that doesn't happen, I suggest Gildarts or Erza."

Romeo returned to his rigid state. "Please let Natsu become S-class."

Makarov laughed heartily and dismissed the twelve-year old. Romeo skipped down the stairs separating the Master's office from the main guild hall. As soon as he did this, he noticed the guy with the spiky blonde hair was missing from sight. He shrugged it off and went over to his father to tell him the exciting news.

Macao was ecstatic to say the least. He brought his son in for a hug and said that if he ever destroys a town, he's blaming Natsu for everything and more.

Of course the mood darkened within milliseconds. As if the sky predicted it, the room became darker as rain neared. It was a storm approaching, and the irony of that statement didn't go lost when Giselle, half beast with electricity sparking across her body, appeared in the guild doors.

"Where is he?" she growled, her voice sounding very much like Mira's when she was in Satan Soul form, only darker and deeper. Storm followed soon after, in his original cloak and bandages, but these were stained with blood. The young boy managed to tackle the girl to the floor, and straddled her from behind, holding her arms in a vice-death grip.

Danielle appeared soon after and Storm promptly got off the girl. Danielle placed her into a swirling whirlpool hovering in mid-air, also in the shape of a bubble.

The twins followed in soon after and with a combined force made no hesitation to throw a neutralising spell at her. She went numb inside the whirlpool, but she wouldn't drown.

The twins breathed out sighs of relief simultaneously.

"What a rush," Lamina breathed out.

"Why'd she go berserk?" Lemasiin asked, with his hands behind his neck. The three late-comers, Nashi, Ari and Selene followed in as soon as he asked this. Of course, his question was heard loud and clear when Storm's visible eye went white and his tribal markings appeared across his skin. He growled lowly when the blonde boy with the spikes took his spot in the middle of the guild.

Realising a fight was about to break out, the rest of the guild dispersed a bit from the middle. This new guy was ripped and he had a manic glint in his eyes, making him seem more dangerous than he already was. His clothes were an army attire – white tank top, camo pants and laced up boots; all of the items appearing to be brand new. He kind of reminded some of them of Laxus, but Nashi knew better.

Storm on the other hand was summoning magic all of a sudden, a rarity for his expertise. It looked like he was planning on going serious and that scared the rest of them. He unhooked the cape around his neck and it fluttered off, exposing his muscular form. He was now only clad in a pair of jeans, a black muscle shirt and bare feet, as per usual.

His tattoos lit up with a red glow and he took up a deadly stance. His four fingers on each hand, excluding the thumb, formed a V. He twisted his body sideways and hooked his hands together, but didn't make a move for what seemed to be eternity.

His chest was heaving as he uttered a silent phrase in Latin. " _Claudite ostium, et praeter tenere_."

Giselle, still in water-lock managed to translate the phrase in a second. She recognised that spell as the lock on everyone else. He wasn't planning on hurting anyone besides Reiki.

And without further ado, the two flashed off to an unknown destination.

The disappearance led to silence in the guild hall and a few bleeding ears.

Nashi sighed and face-palmed. "My brother is going to get killed, isn't he?"

"HOW ARE YOU SO CALM?!" Danielle shrieked. Nashi glanced up at her friend and shrugged, entering the guild even further and took a seat at one of the tables.

"They've never killed each other before, even when they were alone and Storm was completely pissed. Besides, my brother is stronger than he looks: he'll survive. What really worries me though is if your brother is here. That would just cause tension between the boys," Nashi stated plainly as her friends gaped at her, ignoring the stares of the people around them.

"She is completely insane," the twins said.

"What's new?" Danielle asked. She dropped a fuming Giselle from her bubble in the meantime, the latter trudging off to the room right after.

Gray and Juvia ran in soon after. Juvia seemed extremely flustered all of a sudden and muttered under her breath a feeble, "Whoops."

"Did you start this rain, Juvia?" Romeo asked.

Said mage turned a bright scarlet hue right after. She shrugged innocently and said, "Maybe."

"Your magic is acting up too?" Nashi asked, suddenly looking up. Juvia frowned and nodded.

"I guess you can call it that," Juvia answered. She and Gray walked over to Nashi's table and asked if they could join.

"Sure," Nashi said with a shrug.

"Now what did you mean by your magic acting up?" Gray asked. "Is it like Juvia's with a sudden overload?"

"Not overload," Nashi disagreed, "I can't form a simple attack!"

"Are you sure?" Juvia asked. "Just try."

Nashi bit her lip and held out her palm, summoning magic. It was glitch, but a sphere of pitch blackness formed in mid-air. It floated for a few seconds before forming an armour of darkness around her arm up to the elbow.

"See!" Nashi exclaimed. "I can't even summon enough magic for a full armour of death."

Gray and Juvia merely stared at her with blank expressions and said, "Uh-huh," blankly, not quite believing what they were hearing. This kid could supposedly form armour of death? What was that all about anyways?

"That is weird," Danielle said. She dropped down next to Nashi, with some sort of wrapped snack in her hands. She proceeded to nibbled at the edge of the golden treat as soon as she sat down.

"Well," Nashi continued, "I wouldn't necessarily call it weird. It's probably just because we have not practised in a while. It sucks having powerful magic."

"I don't quite understand this whole Satan Spawn dragon slayer magic. What is it actually?" Gray questioned. It was something that had been bothering him for a while now…

"Oh, you see, it's just I have the ability to slay a dragon, but only if they are from dark origins," Nashi explained, "It would be quite easy for me to slay Acnologia if I was at full power, but with this messed power troubles…"

"Wait," Juvia interrupted, "Gildarts Clive, Fairy Tail's strongest could not survive against Acnologia. He had to be slain by another dragon."

"Well, Acnologia is part Zeref and Zeref is evil, my magic works like fighting fire with fire. My magic is meant to kill, so I only go on missions that would allow me to kill without restraint."

"You've killed before?" Gray asked, trying to hide his horror.

Nashi shrugged. "Only monsters. Most of the time I don't use my magic on missions."

"What about Storm?" Juvia asked, albeit hesitantly.

Nashi frowned deeply. She glanced up at the blue-nette, having just glanced down seconds prior. "What about him?"

"Oi," Danielle suddenly interjected, "If you two are in any way going to say something I don't like about my brother there will be hell to pay!"

"Not planning on it," Gray disagreed. "What we would want to know is a little bit more about him. It's these strange theories we had discussed with Lucy. Of course we don't know if it's her writer's instinct going mad…"

"… or if she has a point. We'd like to ease our curiosity, even if it's only a little," Juvia added. She was absolutely dry at this point, but there was no denying the slight moisture developing upon her brow.

Nashi sat back, contemplating if she was going to discuss this with them or not. Her mouth worked before her mind even said yes.

"Storm is the strongest mage in FMA. Of course he is also the youngest to reach the S-class rank at the age of eleven. The eye-patch covers a magical eye which allows him to see others thoughts and if he wishes, to use it as an x-ray. Of course the x-ray isn't as easily contained, given that he can see through the eye-patch nowadays. Of course that would lead to seeing everyone's darkest thoughts. He would be classified as D-class or SS-class had he not been sane and too young," Nashi explained.

"He has Heavenly Body magic, Time-Arc magic and the ability to summon any weapon at will," Danielle added. "Of course he's the first wizard since… who was it?"

"I don't know," Nashi said, clicking immediately at what Danielle was trying to remember, "Some wizard from a few hundred years ago to have more than two magic types."

"Yeah, well," Danielle said broodingly, "If that isn't bad enough, I think he's picking up telekinesis or something."

Nashi sat up surprisingly straighter at this. It was officially starting to scare her and Gray sitting across from her noticed it.

"Well, I guess Erza finally has a match," Gray joked.

"You have no idea," Nashi and Danielle said simultaneously.

xXxXxX

"Relax," Erza advised the over-energetic dragon slayer. Wendy whined.

"I'm sorry, Erza-san," Wendy apologized. "It's just that I'm still nervous about trying this." Wendy was clutching the book she got from Porlyusica to her chest. She lowered it and gave the spell once last glance and stepped back.

She repeated the phrase softly a few times over, getting reassurance from Erza now and then. She finally gathered enough courage and shouted with all the power in her lungs. "SKY DRAGON FLYING WING!"

A luminescent set of wings formed behind Wendy, as if becoming part of her. The only thing that made it visible was the dust particles and the leaves trapped inside the storm. It disappeared as soon as it came to life.

"Oh," Wendy exclaimed. She collapsed to her knees, breathing heavily. "I did it."

Erza laughed joyously. She clapped her hands and hugged Wendy tightly. "Yes, yes you did. Do you want to try again?"

XxXxX

"Lucy-sama, are you sure you wish to do this?" Capricorn asked his master hesitantly. She had been in a determined, frightening mood ever since she summoned him, requesting him to train with her.

"Yes! I did it once, I can do it again," Lucy persisted.

Capricorn sighed. He rhythmically tapped his head with the tips of his fingers as if relieving a headache. He stopped after repeating the pattern twice and looked down at the cross-legged Celestial Mage.

"You do realise this could be really dangerous for you and your spirits. If you collapse you may just take a month to recover," Capricorn chastised.

Lucy sat up straighter, looking her most loyal spirit firmly in the eye. "If that to be the case, then I must tell you I won't give up. My mother wanted me to be powerful and what better excuse to train than the S-class trials."

Capricorn scowled when she played the Layla-card. It always hit a soft spot with him.

"You don't need an excuse to train," – Lucy scowled at Capricorn – "But it seems I cannot deny your request," – Lucy's scowl faded, to be replaced with an eager smile – "So first, calm yourself completely. Connect to the heavens with all your power…"

Capricorn repeated his orders out carefully and Lucy followed step by step, not daring to break her concentration. Firstly she opened Lyra's gate, which stood to the side, looking utterly confused. As soon as the connection was stable she summoned Crux and then followed by Nikora, or better known as Plue. Soon Pyxis followed, and then finally Horologium and then she continued to sustain them as she attempted to open another gate.

Virgo opened up and gasped.

Loke followed behind, almost fainting in surprise.

Then Aries appeared in a puff of pink smoke, before she froze in surprise when she saw the rest.

So far Lucy had all her silver keys and _4 golden_ keys open. She could feel the strain on her magic… but… just one… one more!

"Lucy-sama, be careful," Capricorn advised, "This is too much for you!"

Of course Lucy was stubborn and with a flash of light she managed to open up Sagittarius' gate. Then everything went dark….

XxXxXx

"I can't believe she did that. For an hour!" Loke huffed. When him and the rest of the summoned spirits returned to the Spirit World, the rest of Lucy's keys had waited in anticipation as of to what was going to happen next, given that so many were summoned in the end.

"Someone must open their gate and go help Lucy-sama. Who knows what state she could be in," Capricorn chided.

"Just let me catch my breath," Loke stated a little sarcastically. He was feeling tingly all over and his chest had a strange tightness to it. That specific feeling had gone lost on him for centuries.

"Pun-pun?" Plue asked, tapping Virgo on her leg. The maid crouched down and took the puppy into her arms.

"Yes, Princess will be fine," Virgo said. "She will be…"

Plue seemed content with that and hopped off her lap, to run off. In the meantime, Loke had flashed off to go help Lucy, leaving the rest of her spirits to discuss the latest events.

"It's been a long time since that was possible," Aries mumbled.

"Will she be able to hold us in our original forms?" Scorpio questioned.

"Do not pressure, Milady," Capricorn chastised.

"It is possible," Cancer said. "I've never had such a powerful master before."

"True," Horologium added, "Mistress Layla was not even able to summon one of her gold keys for very long."

Aquarius, who had been listening in on the conversation added a little spice to the mix. "The real question is, what are we going to do if she reaches max power? A brat like her won't be able to tame us."

"Aquarius," Gemmy chastised.

"Don't be mean," Minnie finished.

Just as they said that Loke flashed back. "Lucy's in critical. She may or may not have stopped breathing for a few seconds. Wendy is taking care of her right now, but we can't risk her using any magic unless she… she orders us. We will not defy her orders, is that clear? We will neither talk about this unless push comes to shove nor will we bother our master with the unnecessary. Our job is to support her and allow her to become stronger. I hope you all understand."

Loke's voice was firm and once again it showed why he was the leader of the Zodiacs.

"Understood," Aries said all of a sudden. She was the first to break the silence and a smile broke out on Loke's face. He nodded and without further ado, the conversation dispersed. Everyone left the main room that connected them to their master, only to head to their respected houses and the rest of the spirit world. It was going to be troublesome day for the spirits.

XxXxX

"Sorry for interrupting your training with my idiocy," Lucy mumbled to Wendy.

"It's truly no problem. I'm sorry," Wendy said.

Lucy hummed. She was currently in the infirmary resting after her mad cycle of magic. "You have nothing to apologise for. I was the idiot here."

Wendy didn't deny it. "True."

"Hey!" Lucy protested at the bluenette's cheekiness.

Wendy giggled. "You said it, not me!"

"Wow," Lucy muttered. "You're possibly going to be sassier than a teenage Mira."

"Speaking of Mira, did you hear she's going to do another shoot again and Sorcerer Weekly is searching for another model!? They're coming later today!" Wendy gushed. Lucy's face fell, but she quickly regained her posture.

"You seem unnaturally excited?" Lucy said, but it came out more as a question.

Wendy blushed and her gaze shifted, avoiding Lucy's eyes. "I don't know. I guess I just want to be more like Erza and Mira-nee. It would be totally cool if I could do some modelling. Apparently they pay quite a bit!"

Lucy nodded, trying to hide the possibility that she may be ignored once more. It was a churning feeling in her gut, mixed with the sudden hunkering to see Natsu. She just wanted him to hug her.

"Are you and Natsu dating?" Wendy suddenly asked, pulling Lucy out of her reverie.

"What? Why would you think that?" Lucy said it loudly and in an uncharacteristically high pitch. She was flustered and terribly surprised at the young girl's observation.

"Well, I guess it was just the way Natsu looked at you the other day," Wendy said, "It was… like… I don't know how to explain it, but he was looking at you like he would look at something delicious. Or maybe it was just me. But he has strangely smelt different…"

"Smelt?" Lucy questioned, one eyebrow raised.

"Well, everyone has a scent and we dragon slayers can smell it, but Natsu's smells a little different. I can't really place it, but it's almost as if he… smells a little like… I don't know; vanilla?"

"Oh… maybe he stole my soap again," Lucy mumbled in a disgruntled tone.

"You haven't answered my question yet," Wendy prodded.

Lucy sighed. She sunk into the bed's pillows, possibly trying to smother herself. "Well, he asked me out a few days ago, but we haven't gone on a date yet."

"Really? What was it like?" Wendy gushed.

"What has gotten into you?" Lucy asked. "Wendy, you're a little too young to interested in this kind of stuff."

"No I'm not," Wendy disagreed, but her blush on her face gave her embarrassment away.

"Why? Is there someone you have a crush on?" Lucy teased.

Wendy's face went even redder as she bit her lip. "Maybe."

"Oh, how adorable. When I was your age all I wanted was a friend," Lucy mumbled morosely. Her mood changed drastically right after. "You know what, I'm feeling much better and I'm pretty sure you want to get back to training. I've got stuff to do back home."

She climbed out of bed and walked out of the room surprisingly quickly, with Wendy calling behind her. "Don't use magic yet, okay?"

Lucy almost didn't want to hear her, but she did as she trudged out of the guild hall.

"Hey, Lucy, are you feeling better?" Erza called out from the bar when she saw the blonde. Lucy nodded curtly and sped up her pace. Soon she was out of the guild and into the fresh Magnolia air. She exhaled a breath she hadn't realised she had been holding and marched down the familiar path that led her to her house.

Meanwhile back at the guild Wendy had joined Erza at the bar as she ate her usual cake treat.

"Is Lucy okay?" Erza asked, through a bite so the last word sounded like 'o-way'.

"Yeah, last I checked her vitals were up to stat. She should be fine, but her magic was completely gone for quite a while," Wendy explained. Carla had joined her at the bar. "Why wouldn't she be?"

"Oh, you know, I just heard that magic depletion can cause depression," Erza noted. "And Lucy is quite a sensitive girl…."

"I didn't know that!" Wendy gasped.

Erza shrugged. "I could be wrong, but all I know is that it has been recorded in the past. Just making sure my teammate is okay."

"Maybe we should just keep an eye on her and see what happens," Wendy suggested nervously.

"Let's not try to trigger any insecurities," Erza said. "Mira, where's the Master?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Attack Part 2

 **HEY GUYS! So I've already been planning the trials, so for future reference, who do you want to become S-class? I would prefer if you don't mention Lucy or Wendy, given that despite them being strong, I doubt they would eventually make it against the original S-class mages unless I pull a miracle card. Keep in mind that these trials allow TWO PEOPLE to claim the title and from there on, who becomes… um… Guild Master. Surprise?**

Storm had teleported them to a rocky mountain range, next to a water pool.

"I hope you've been taking care of my sister," Reiki said. His voice was monotone and he acted surprisingly relaxed.

Storm on the other hand wasn't as calm. His furious expression was plastered to his face and within milliseconds he was throwing punches to Reiki, who dodged and threw a few punches of his own, never landing a fatal blow.

"Stop going easy on me!" Storm growled. Reiki didn't even wince. He continued to fight his own way, avoiding every opportunity to hurt the kid. If Storm wasn't fighting seriously, why should he?

"You must be forgetting that I'm immune to your voice," Reiki stated. This infuriated Storm even further. He summoned a battle axe and charged forward, with all the speed he had.

"Celestial Flight light: Harlot mass!"

Reiki shot away before the weapon could even graze him. The axe got lodged into the giant boulder behind him though, shattering on impact.

"Why are you even here?" Storm shouted. He flung the axe, causing it to fly through the air and clatter a few feet from a dodging Reiki. The bastard was moving too fast for Storm to focus and it the intensity of the light made his head ache.

"I should have come on this mission and you bastards left me behind!" Reiki snapped. He threw an unidentified spell towards Storm, burning his bandages to a crisp around his arms. He stared at his wrists for a few seconds, before running forward without a spell, punching him squarely in the face.

A sickening crunch echoed through the silence around them.

Reiki stumbled back, almost in slow motion as his hand flew to the bloody mess that was his face.

Blood came in a downpour out of his nose and mouth. He gave a spit: blood and a piece of white fell.

Reiki was furious now. He wiped the excess blood from his lip, staining his lower arm red. And then and kicked Storm so hard, he went stumbling down to his knees.

"We fight fists," Reiki growled. "Because heck knows this isn't over yet until I say it is."

"I never did anything to you!" Storm retaliated. He jumped up, taking another fighting stance.

"You're the reason Igneel is dead!" Reiki snapped. He ran and punched Storm again.

And again.

And again.

Storm kicked and flailed and despite trying his hardest, in a fist fight the preteen had no way of winning this easily.

He rolled out of the way when he had the chance, causing Reiki to punch the ground beneath him, leaving a dent.

Storm took a few steps back and ran into the older boy's direction, landing a flying kick to his back. He fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

"You want to fight me over nothing, know that I will not hesitate to kill you," Storm hissed, "No matter how much I care for your sister."

Storm crashed into the nearest tree, causing the plant to splinter to pieces and fall along with the redheaded mage.

This time though it wasn't Reiki who did the damage, it was none other than wyverns, bred from the dark guild that started it all. Great. Just great: they were having quite a nice brawl when these marked bastards appeared.

The wyverns were big, almost completely dracon-ish, had it not been for the identifiable differences between the two beasts. Storm summoned his death scythe and jumped from the crater his fall had created.

A few swings and he was already used to the giant weapon.

Reiki was throwing punches and running faster than any of the wyverns could see. His attacks dealt great damage, but it was temporary and not fatal enough. Storm on the other hand was gaining from this: the wyverns were distracted. With a demonic roar, Storm sped forward, gaining acceleration with every step he took. His power intensified and he was glowing. His magic was set on the weapon in his hands. The scythe was glowing and hopefully the blade was getting stronger. The first wyvern noticed him, but Storm was quicker. With a single swipe, the wyvern's head fell from the neck. Blood got everywhere, staining Storm from head to toe. The pre-teen didn't even flinch.

Storm chuckled. It was only a matter of time before every wyvern was destroyed.

And he was once more the hero of this battle.

Using the scythe, with the blade on the ground he was up on the hilt in seconds. He gained momentum in the sky and swung the scythe and the nearest beast.

"STORM!" Reiki shouted from a distance. Storm only glanced at him before giving the scythe another swing, the blade landing in the back with a dull crack.

Storm fell with the beast. His scythe was becoming hard to manage, so he reequipped with another heavyweight sword. He threw it into the direction of another wyvern with strangely darker scales.

"TELEPORT US BACK YOU DAMNED IDIOT!" Reiki shouted out in frustration. He was having trouble taking these beasts down; in fact he was merely distracting them so that Storm wasn't forced to take them down alone.

"I can't!" Storm shouted. "I'm a little busy here!"

"What the hell?!" Reiki blanched. His fury didn't go unnoticed. His fists glowed and he sent a wyvern flying. If Storm wasn't going to co-operate, then he'll have to do something about it.

Some of the wyverns were flying off, but there were tons of them still attacking and Reiki was having slight trouble, concerning that.

"Heavenly bodies of the North; grant me your power and bring forth our Celestial MIGHT!" Reiki shouted. A brilliant light came forth, taking out a few dozens of them. Storm was still swinging his swords around, impaling the beasts without a second thought. He was too busy to notice the wyvern with his claws outstretched, ready to impale the poor guy in the back. Reiki made a last minute decision and shoved the redhead out of the way. The claw impaled the ground, centimetres away from Reiki's form.

"Shit," Reiki muttered. Storm floundered around, trying to avoid the claws of the wyverns all around them. "Storm, you have to do the spell."

"We'll be fine! I'm not doing it!" Storm shouted back.

"Storm," Reiki muttered, staring at the younger boy in front of him. His eyes held sadness and fear, but most of all hatred.

Hatred for the guild which interrupted their fight.

Hatred for the guild which destroyed the entire Fiore.

The guild who took away his future.

The guild that killed his father… the one who destroyed Fairy Tail.

He hated them and it wasn't even the beginning of what he felt.

Hatred was definitely an understatement.

Storm's thoughts lingered longer than he wanted to. Eventually he was snatched out of his reverie, to see Reiki fighting of the beasts, barely holding his forts.

"REQUIP! THOUSAND SWORDS, MAGIC OF ETHERION I CALL UPON YOU…" Storm chanted as literally a thousand swords appeared, "BRING JUSTICE! METOER SHOWER!"

The skies darkened, Storm threw his cloak over Reiki as they crouched, the wyverns moved in for the final blow, a thousand swords started raining down and meteors crashed, making everything dark.

A few seconds passed, pierced with the sounds of wails from the wyverns, crashes and explosions that would make Natsu or Gildarts shy and then… silence.

"Tell me you didn't overdo it," Reiki mumbled.

Storm huffed and said breathlessly: "I'm pretty sure Fiore is still intact."

He threw the cloak off and stared in horror at the sight before him. Everything was craters and swords were in dead bodies everywhere they looked. Storm tried to keep the magic on a down low, but that obviously didn't work. Everything was a giant wasteland in just a second.

"Can we go home now?" Reiki mumbled desperately. Storm nodded. He muttered an enchantment and they all collapsed in the middle of the guild.

XxXxX

Everyone had resorted to an all-out dance party. Giselle was playing the violin at a high speed, messing with all kinds of music. Feet stomped the floor, hands clapped and everyone was having a generally good time.

Master had turned up and was enjoying the flash party just as much as the rest of the guild.

Nashi was out searching for Lucy. Nobody noticed the Sorcerer Weekly reporter there and unluckily for them it wasn't Jason….

A brunette lady with a crisp business suit, a camera around her neck and a notepad in her hand, stood there as she surveyed the chaotic guild. She already despised the rambunctious group of mages, dancing and just being generally loud.

This scene just made her nose crease and her toes curl in disgust.

It just got worse when Nashi almost shoved the lady out of her way with Lucy in tow and Reiki and Storm appeared out of nowhere, bloodied and beaten.

Giselle dropped her bow in shock and everyone froze when the music stopped.

"Fairy Tail," the lady said coldly, "I hope you have an explanation for this."

Everyone just gaped at the lady in front of them.

Silence, only pierced by Reiki's ragged breaths. The twins were the ones to save the awkwardness, all thanks to their charms.

Lemasiin took her hand in his and with a velvety voice said, "Please, do forgive us. Fairy Tail has always been a crazy bunch and we were just having fun."

Lamina took her other hand and said in an equally sultry voice, "Of course a beautiful maiden like you should understand,"

"We are merely here for you. What can we do to make it up to you?" Lemasiin added.

The brunette had a flushed face and had dropped her writing utensils. "I- uh- what do you… Where is the master?" She hurriedly ripped her hands from the teens' grip.

Master Makarov, with a slightly tipsy grin, came forward to survey the young lady.

"Ah, Samantha. You came right on time," Master Makarov said, "Boys, get this lovely lady a comfortable seat in the meeting room and Danielle, please get her a drink while the rest of your friends calm this place down."

The twins already started tugging her along to the conference room. The guild snapped out of their reverie and eventually noticed the passed out duo. They dragged the two up to the infirmary along with Natsu, with a peevish Wendy following behind.

"HOLD UP!" Danielle shouted, "Did nobody notice how beat up those two guys were?"

Nashi, who was trying to explain to Lucy what happened to Natsu, turned her attention to her friend. "You know those two. They have rivalry neither can explain. They'll be fine."

Danielle huffed and went upstairs to check on the duo.

It was quite an afternoon, with so many things happening all at once. Let's check in on the beaten up rivals.

Wendy tried healing the two as Storm whined in pain at the slight contact. "What even happened to you two? If you were fighting, then I'm kind of scared."

Reiki chuckled, but realised his mistake when his muscles ached horribly. "No, we started off fighting and then we got attacked by a pack of wyverns off the Dragon Isles mountain range. Stupid dark guild set it up," Reiki joked as an afterthought.

"Dark guild?" Carla exclaimed. She had followed Wendy to the infirmary and was sitting off to the side as she watched the display of her healing.

"Dragon Isles?" Wendy asked, equally surprised.

"Oh, yeah, you don't know? Dragons used to live there. That's where we're going for the Trials," Reiki stated. "Oof! I said too much!" His soul promptly left his body. Wendy sighed and shoved the spirit back in.

"You better rest up. Make sure Storm doesn't move around too much, either," Wendy ordered. The little girl marched out of the infirmary, leaving Reiki to shiver in fear at her demanding tone.

Danielle, who had been watching this all along, moved over to Reiki's side, a scowl etched on to her face. "What were you two thinking?"

"Ah, Danielle Fullbuster, an eye-sore as always," Reiki said mockingly.

"Shut it, Dragneel. I'll have you know that if Nashi found out Storm and you were fighting-,"

"We always fight. What's the difference now, Rain?"

"The difference," Danielle sneered, "Is that Storm used _that_ spell. She'll murder you and then revive you and murder you again!"

Reiki rolled his eyes.

"I can't believe you were so irresponsible," Danielle exclaimed as her rant continued. "You may as well know that Storm can kill himself with that spell."

"He's powerful, but he won't kill himself. He took out an entire army of wyverns and came out pretty unharmed, so I don't know what you're worried about," Reiki reasoned.

"He's only a kid," Danielle argued.

"Look, Fullbuster, I know you've always been hung up on keeping this idiot over there safe, but he's smarter than he looks."

"Oh shut it," Danielle huffed, "And stop throwing my surname around like that!"

"Why not, Fullbuster?"

"Shut it, Dragneel," Danielle sneered. At this point the two were glaring each other down, their noses less than a centimetre apart.

The room was tense with silence, but Danielle nor Reiki found this unnerving.

"I can kiss you right now if I want to," Reiki said out of nowhere.

Danielle was not amused. She swiftly punched the Celestial Archive Mage in the face, causing him to fall back on to the pillows with a bleeding nose. Danielle turned on her heel and marched out of the room with as much dignity as she could muster, despite her furious red face.

"My dad would kill you if he found out about that," Danielle said, just as she left.

"We are telling them tonight, you know!" Reiki called.

Danielle groaned and ran downstairs in the direction of her team leader. Wait until Asuka, their captain, heard about what the boys had been up to. So much for a smooth mission – they'll be forced to reveal their identities sooner than later. Halfway down the stairs, a thought struck Danielle. Where was Asuka?

She turned on her heel and ran to the infirmary, barging in there.

Reiki blinked. "What do you want now?"

"Where's Asuka?" Danielle demanded. "And don't you even bother lying to me!"

"Sheesh, are all the girls scary these days?" Reiki muttered. "She's in the Golden Lilly Inn."

"Thanks."

XxXxX

Nashi chuckled as she recounted a story from school. Through the chaos, some of the original guild members have been trying to get to know the new guys better.

"And because Nashi has this huge thing for cinnamon rolls we put it in there. She ate it up like nobody's business. Potion worked – just not like we suspected," Lemasiin stated.

"Apparently I was gay for two weeks," Nashi quipped. "Not like I can remember anything."

"Oi," Selene said suddenly appearing behind her, "Being gay is awesome!"

"I'm not the one interested in girls, thank you, Selene, so I wouldn't know," Nashi answered bluntly, while giving the brunette a pointed look.

"Ooh! Topic change! You're into girls?" Lucy asked, curiosity written on her face.

"Yep," Selene admitted. She took a sip from the mug she was holding. "It's always so unpredictable with a girl. I love it!"

"Okay, let's not talk about this," Nashi said. Her face was growing scarlet at her friend's statements. It only made it worse since she roomed with the idiot at one point.

This girl did _not_ know how to keep quiet at night. The only thing that kept her from her little rendezvous' at night was the little Ari rooming with the girls.

Juvia was preoccupied with the relief, saying something along the lines of, "Only one rival left! Gray-sama is all mine!"

At least, that's what Lucy thought she said.

Erza, who hadn't said a word so far and had been nibbling on the side of her nail, said, without looking at them, "Lucy, Juvia, Levy, can I talk to you guys later this evening?"

"Uh, sure," Lucy agrees, without missing a beat as she lifts her head.

"Juvia does not mind," Juvia says sweetly.

"What about, Erza-san?" Levy queries.

"Just a mission," Erza responds smoothly, but her eyes deceive her. "Excuse me; I'm just going to check up on the guys in the infirmary." Erza stood up from her chair and left without another word.

"I gotta go too," Gajeel says, excusing him.

Oh well….


	6. Chapter 6

Immortality – The Game

CHAPTER 6

Asuka's P.O.V

Golden Lilly Inn was quite the sweet little inn. It kind of reminded me of my dorm at school and it was the cheapest I could find.

"Not bad," I muttered when I noticed the golden wrapped chocolate. With a flick of my finger, I shot it up into the air and caught it once more. I ripped the paper off and popped it into my mouth and bounced on the bed, savouring the sweet taste. It's a good feeling to relax, but I knew it wouldn't last long, especially with my kids.

Okay, so maybe I'm not their mother or anything, but I am still team-coach and Nashi's team-captain. It's a sweet deal really. She's responsible. It's her brother I'm worried about…

I hope I get to see my folks again. It would be sweet to see my dad without a silly beard and my mom with her long braid, just like mine. Man, I miss them.

I ponder a few things as I chew the chocolate. I come to realize a few things as I do so.

The chocolate has hazelnuts.

I have to get some sort of disguise

Where is my damned wedding ring?!

Yeah, you read the last one right. I was going to do it like my mom and be the one to propose. Then the damned idiot decided to break up with me…. Stupid Raven. Of course I doubt I would have been ready for the Romeo and Juliet twists our relationship brought forth.

Our guilds are enemies after all.

Ah, Gade, what have you done to me?

Your midnight hair, your sweet body and your… oh your eyes that seem to hold the sky!

After the long trip here and the protect run I did yesterday to make sure the magic levels in Magnolia were normal (request from the council), I've been completely exhausted.

My guns are kept closely sealed (the ones I can't re-quip), my clothes are neatly folded and in the closet and my boots are haphazardly on the floor. I am _ready_ for a nap.

Just as I was about to cuddle with the throw pillow on the brown crocheted blanket, a firm knock interrupted my futile attempts at rest.

I sigh and flung the door open. Without looking, I assumed it was Lahar or someone similar.

"I already did the magic run," I complain. I then see who it is. "Oh."

"Hello, Asuka," he greets. The male runs a hand through his messy hair and lets himself in. A girl follows behind quickly.

"Can I help you?" I ask, trying to maintain the sweetness in my voice, without it sounding bitter.

"Yes, you can," the girl said. She grabs my hands and pulls me so that we're arms' length from each other.

"Have you heard of the wyvern attack?" the male asks me. He stands back, but Axil keeps her eyes locked on me.

 _Axil – Team Coach from the Mermaid Heel group._

 _Nevavoi – Captain of the Quattro Cerberus group._

My eyes widen in shock. "What wyvern attack?"

Axil smiles apologetically, making my nerves go on edge. "Your group, Storm and Reiki. They got into a fight and somehow ended up taking the wyverns down with them. Storm reported to Nevavoi about an hour ago and we were in the neighbourhood, so we came by to make sure you got the news. Apparently one of your team was supposed to come here to report already, but…"

The door slams open once more, revealing Danielle.

"Oh, you've been told," Danielle said nervously, noticing the three of us.

I sighed, removed Axil's arms and stepped back. "Come in Danielle. I guess we have a few things to discuss now."

Nevavoi even has the guts to go and hug the girl tightly. "Hello, my darling."

"Danielle," I interrupted their embrace, "Report, please. Did you guys see anything? My run was clear, considering the wyvern attack."

Danielle smiles sheepishly at me. "That's all the boys' fault. Reiki and Storm got into a fight, Storm teleported them to Dragon Isles and wyverns attacked. Things are a little awkward at Fairy Tail. Too many things have happened in one week and now… yeah… it's a madhouse. Almost too much to handle, honestly."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. Childish memories of me playing with the older kids, hanging out with Titania as she trained me… ah, good memories.

"Fairy Tail has always been a rambunctious group," Nevavoi added, teasingly.

"Rumours are true. They're all crazy strong, loud and even a little on the madhouse side. I pity Makarov," Danielle stated.

My face darkened at the mentioning of the Fairy Tail master. I couldn't help it. The memories were terrible and even after 20 years, I still remembered the tears.

"Besides that, are there any other problems?"

"No," Danielle said, "besides everyone being dense idiots."

"Have you told your parents?" Axil asked.

" _Nein_ ," Danielle said. "It's pretty hard, considering most of them don't even have an interest in their significant other, and Storm's dad keeps coming in and going out, when we're not there. For a fugitive he sure does have a lot do to with Fairy Tail."

"Oh," Axil said lamely, "It's just that our guilds know, and what with Master Makarov going to be at the guild master meeting in a few days, I just thought…"

"I suggest we call for a meeting tonight. There have been casualties the past few days. I suggest we start warning the S-class and the S-class runner-up's. As far as I remember, Fairy Tail is in danger and the result of not warning them could be pretty stupid," Asuka stated.

"So we'll see each other at Fairy Tail at ten tonight?" Nevavoi clarified.

Danielle grinned. "Yeah. Thanks for the moral support, Neva. Knowing my mother I'll need it."

I grunted in agreement. I barely remembered the water mage, but in all honesty, her behaviour was relatively hard to forget.

Now, where were we?

Erza was uncomfortable and it wasn't because the swordswoman had been sitting still for the past hour-and-a-half. She never got round to talking to her female friends, but maybe she would finally be able to cease her curiosities that evening.

The meeting was supposed to start 90 minutes ago, but where was master? Mirajane was nowhere to be found either.

The atmosphere was indifferent, but debatable to an extent. The lights were low, but laughter resounded among those who were conversing loudly. Natsu, Lucy, the exceeds and Gajeel (surprisingly) was in a serious game of cards, and Lucy seemed to be on the losing team.

Elfman and his sister were talking to the twins and Ari had found an interest in Selene's potions, the latter having wandered to the bar to have a drink with Cana.

"When do you think something is actually gonna happen?" Gray growled lowly.

Erza glanced up at the new resident at the table. "I wish I knew. I guess when Master gets here."

Suddenly there was a large bang at the entrance. A familiar voice followed.

"What the heck?"

Bisca?

"Where's the kids? Nashi, Storm, Reiki!" Erza glanced to the source of sound. She looked exactly like Bisca, but her black hair gave her away. Nashi leaned over the balcony when her name was called.

"Oh, Asuka! Sorry, we're still sorting out Storm's audio lacrima and Danielle is discussing something with Master," Nashi explained.

"Screw that; we don't have all night!" Asuka bellowed. Her eyes caught Erza's and she went stiff.

"Asuka? Is that your name?" Erza questioned, blinking excessively. Erza rubbed her forehead, letting out a shaky exhale. "Either I'm dreaming, or Cana gave me alcohol."

Asuka breathed out a sigh of relief. Erza was out of the loop… for now. The cowgirl slipped past the people in the room, whom all of gave her curious looks. She ignored it and made her way up the stairs and to the master's office, where lo-and-behold; Danielle, Mirajane and Makarov were.

"Oh, Asuka! Sorry; we're running behind schedule. I still – ," Danielle started, but was promptly cut short.

"We don't have all day. Where's Nevavoi and Axil? I thought you already started," Asuka said.

"Uh, alright, I guess we should get started," Danielle said timidly, glancing at Makarov for confirmation. The Master, Danielle noted, had an odd shade of red on his cheeks….

Makarov smiled. "If that's the case, then we must get started. Asuka Connell, I leave this over to you."

Asuka smiled and curtsied out of respect. It was an obligatory action forced upon them in the academy. "Thank you, Master." (She stood up glancing at Danielle.) "Go get Axil and Nevavoi. We need to get this started. You all need to do your midnight patrol and we don't have much time the clock strikes. Move it, Cinderella! Other than that, we're good to go. Get Nashi and Reiki down here. The twins alert and have Giselle and Selene on defence outside for the first half. Have them switch later."

Asuka ran out of the room, to take her place at the balcony.

Three claps was all it took for everyone on the team to align next to her in a fashionably order; all except Danielle, who left to go get the other two.

"Hello, Fairy Tail," Asuka said with her usual business smile. "I truly want to thank you all for accepting this request. Your job is of utmost importance, yet I regret for no reward."

Request?  
Job?  
Reward?

"To make it all clear, you know none of us except for me. Well, at least not yet. You know me; I am Asuka Connell, 20 years into the future."

The silence was deafening.

"But then again, we are all from the future. I believe an introduction is in order. Nashi?"

The pinkette nodded, an eerie smirk adorning her face. "Nashi Layla Dragneel; Team Captain; Dark Dragon Slayer magic." As proof, her body covered itself in a shadowy set of scales, her hair darkened and her nails became claws. She kept this for a few seconds before returning to normal. Including the Fiorean Military Stance.

"Reiki Igneel Dragneel; Team Strategist; Celestial Light Magic." He became a glowing mist of gold particles, only to reappear on the other side of the guild, to which he quickly returned to his stance back on the balcony.

"Selene. Potion Mistress. Medicinal Recruit, no magic to display."

"Lamina; I'm a Celestial Spirit. Magic of the Lion," he said with a smirk. Lucy's eyes widened significantly at this statement. If he was a spirit, where was his key? Wait…. No she should not think like that!

"Lemasiin; I'm a Spirit too. Dual spirits alongside my brother," Lemasiin stated.

"Giselle; I'm known for my infiltrating skills and ability to shift into lizards –," she snapped her head to Nashi, "And no, I will not turn into a dragon. No matter how cool it is."

Nashi pouted and even some of the dragon slayers groaned.

"No team title – yet – and no magic title, either. I'm title-less," Giselle concluded.

And then, from the little speaker atop the balcony came Storm's altered voice.

"Evening, ladies and gentleman. I wish to let you all know that I appreciate the warm welcome and that despite your findings tonight, I hope you all accept us graciously. I realise it is quite rude and that there are no social etiquettes for your future kids just randomly appearing in your own time, but please, react whichever way you would. Oh and by the way – for Pete's sake Erza! You kick ass, but kissing scares you? Are you serious!?"

Nashi sighed in exaggeration, not noticing Erza's surprised look. "Storm, you forgot to introduce yourself."

"I did? Oh, yeah. Storm Fernandez, one of three kids, eldest should be appearing any second now – ,"

"Storm!"

"Ok, ok! This is why I don't talk! Jeez… I'm a multi-magical user. Kind of got the overload magic from that water Mom drank that one time…. Anyways – I don't have a team title and I can't speak to someone in the same room as I due to the fact I make people's ears explode. It's a lovely curse!"

"Thank you Storm. For the time being we need to be somewhere else. As you all know, most of you are the father or mother of these children. Do not be alarmed, we will be back in less than three days. Members from different guilds, also from the future, will be here for the time being. Don't be alarmed. Take all this in, accept the relationships you have now and without further ado…. See you Wednesday!"

So with a puff of smoke, they all disappeared.

6


	7. Chapter 7

They were idiots. Complete and utter idiots! Why on Earthland did they allow _Erza_ to train them?!

Even Natsu was exhausted and _that_ was saying something. They were nearing their eighth lap around Magnolia and despite Magnolia not being that large, the perimeter stretched at least 20 kilometres.

Lucy was magically keeping up, despite her exhaustion seemingly getting the better of her as her movements were sluggish and she tripped at least twice in the past mile.

Gray and Natsu were still neck and neck, challenging each other silently. It was a matter of speed, stamina and who could glare the hardest while not running into anything.

Wendy was at the back of the group, Charle fluttering beside her gracefully, seemingly fine, but you could see the fatigue in her as well.

Erza was upfront, running as though her life depended on it, and she did not even break a sweat!

Lucy was starting to get suspicious, but not only suspicious, she was also pretty sure she was hallucinating. Was that… a flaming bird on the detour rocky road into the woods? She stopped momentarily and Wendy easily bypassed her. Lucy managed to catch her breath and found herself staring at the flame visible between the trees. She carefully made her way up the rocky slope and towards the scaffolding of the trees, while still keeping her eye on the phoenix.

She wasn't sure how she managed to see the thing, as it was quite a distance in, or maybe it was moving away from her. Nevertheless, she moved forward and kept her eyes locked on the bird. All of a sudden, Lucy found herself in a clearing, with a tranquil lake in front of her, creating a sense of untrustworthy serenity.

She sniffed the air, expecting it to be damp or at least smell leafy, but the air was crisp and rather smelled sweet.

The phoenix surveyed Lucy from its perch on a branch. All of a sudden it burst into garnet flames and shrunk in size once the fire evaporated. Lucy held out her arm horizontally and the flaming bird fluttered down to rest on the open skin of Lucy. The remaining flames on the bird flickered over her skin, but did not burn her, unlike Natsu's raging fires that destroyed nearly everything.

Suddenly the silence was broken by her friends calling for her. Lucy let the bird fly off and she ran into the direction of her friends' calls and vaguely noticed that the bird was following her. She ran with renewed energy down the slope and towards the open road, finding her friends yelling for her.

"Sorry, guys!" she yelled, coming over to the group as they gathered.

"Where did you run off to?" Gray demanded with his eyes uncharacteristically steely.

"Um…. I went Phoenix hunting?" Lucy supplied weakly, gesturing to the bird which had perched on her shoulder.

"Um…. Luce, what the heck is that?" Natsu asked, pointing to the bird on her shoulder.

"Oh, this is a phoenix," Lucy supplied.

"Cool!" Lucy could barely stop him before he had the bird in his hands and was snuggling it to his chest, sneakily licking the flames now and then. The phoenix looked unnaturally calm in Natsu's hold…

"WHY ARE YOU LICKING THE BIRD!?"

They managed to finish the rest of their run in record time, nobody even mentioning Lucy's odd momentary absence. When they returned to the guild for lunch, they all, except for Erza, collapsed at the nearest table. Erza went ahead to the bar to place an order for her team. The bird had followed them, strangely enough, seemingly finding Lucy as a very affectionate partner.

Within minutes the waitresses managed to whip up something for the exhausted team. They dug in and were left alone for the most part, partly since nobody wanted to be hit with flying food from the boys' direction.

The phoenix nibbled on everything he saw, but never bothered the teammates immensely. Wendy was thoroughly attentive to the bird, genuine curiosity in her focused gaze. The guild was rather empty, except for the selected few members who chose to stay and linger, or team members waiting to go on a mission, or returning from such.

BAM!

Lucy sighed. Why did she ever think she was going to have a nice, peaceful lunch?

"Where's Asuka?!" Reiki demanded; his appearance rather frazzled as though he ran just as much as Team Natsu did.

"Which one?" Mirajane piped up, "Tall one or mini one?"

"The mini one! That's it!" he exclaimed, with animated hand gestures, "I'm never babysitting again!"

"When did they get back?" Gray whispered to his teammates.

Erza shrugged.

"Reiki!" the elder Asuka exclaimed, following the Celestial mage into the guild, "Stop losing me!" and lo-and-behold, she held herself in her arms.

Little Asuka was fast asleep, holding tightly onto the lapels of her future self's jacket.

"Oh, thank heavens!" Reiki exclaimed, spinning on his heel and taking the sleeping child out of Asuka's arms.

Lucy decided that watching the two friends converse, was much more pleasing than paying attention to her team's random chatter.

Reiki was gentle with the child is his arms, cradling her like she was his own. It seemed that he had inherited Natsu's fatherly instinct.

The previous night had definitely been an awkward arrangement. Natsu and Lucy had been in a deep discussion until the stroke of midnight, mostly about Reiki and Nashi. Given that they had a rocky romantic relationship, but a solid friendship first and foremost, they had resigned themselves to the fact that one day Lucy was going to be the mother of two very dangerous children, with Natsu as their reckless yet loving father. They had hugged and convinced each other that making a commotion out of it would only cause more tension among them, and they joked that Erza had much more to worry about, what with mothering three children – two of them boys.

Reiki and the elder Asuka was in a deep discussion at the bar, and while the younger Asuka slept, the elder Asuka indulged herself in an alcoholic drink. She seemed apprehensive at whatever Reiki was suggesting, while Reiki had a fierce look in his eyes. Lucy pondered momentarily what they were discussing, but Natsu managed to answer her.

Like he could read her thoughts.

"They're arguing. I think it's about where the rest are," he explained. Lucy looked to her side to face Natsu and nodded, returning her gaze to the duo.

"Do you think we should talk to Reiki?" Natsu interrupted her thoughts.

Lucy shook her head. "We'll wait until Nashi is here first, then we'll discuss it with them."

Lucy watched as Reiki exhaled heavily, obviously frustrated.

Then a firm, "No," before he stood up and left the guild with the little Asuka still in his arms. Mirajane stopped by with that angelic smile, prepared to fill their glasses with more water.

"How was training?"

"A night- I mean it was really fun. We even found a phoe-," Lucy stopped short, noticing the phoenix's lack of presence.

"Where'd it go?" Natsu murmured, glancing around frantically.

"Hey, Mira, when did the kids get back?" Gray asked, interrupting the two mages search for the flaming bird.

Mira shrugged, but answered nonetheless. "It's only those two. They came back this morning, and Alzack and Bisca needed a babysitter, so they had him take care of the kid."

"Did they honestly believe that leaving Asuka with her future self as well was a good idea?" Erza asked, clearly not amused.

Mira giggled softly and tucked the tray under her arm.

"It was only Reiki here at that point. I couldn't watch over her – I don't have the time," Mira explained, "And besides, Reiki is a sucker for kids. Actually, all the boys are – it's sweet."

"It's weird," Gray commented dryly. "Guess it's genetically transmitted."

They all seemingly turned their gazes to Natsu and Lucy, who were in an avid and animated discussion as they left the guild to go hunting for the bird.

What a strange couple…

"That was a piece of cake!" Danielle exclaimed cheerily, her arms outstretched above her.

"For you maybe," Selene drawled sarcastically. "I nearly had my head bit off and if it weren't for Lamina, I'd be a goner."

"I don't know why you didn't just throw a Molotov cocktail into its throat. It's your specialty, ain't it?" Giselle asked innocently. She skipped pleasantly ahead across the dirt road, not even bothering with slowing down so the rest can keep up.

"My Molotov was used on the mayor," Selene admitted sheepishly.

"Oh, yeah, by the way, that's not happening again," Nashi interjected sharply.

"What, throwing customers with poisonous and flammable liquids or using said poisonous and flammable liquids?" Selene asked.

"Both."

…

"Hey, does anyone know if Edward or Ur is dropping by again?" Danielle asked.

"Edward took Storm with him; don't know where they are, and I don't care," Nashi muttered.

"Where are we heading anyway?" Lamina asked. "We're not even heading to the guild."

"You know where we're heading. I told you this morning."

"I was doped on coffee, you can't hold anything against me since then."

"We're going to visit my grandpa," Nashi told them and for once her friends fell silent.

"Grandpa?"

"Yup, grandpa."


End file.
